Volumetric absorption, which requires media with good optical and thermal properties, is a promising technology for solar collectors. An advanced composite core/shell nanostructure, which can be used for the integration of sunlight harvest and energy storage, is reported in this paper. The composite core/shell nanoparticles are composed by Sn, SiO2 and Ag. Sn material is used for thermal energy storage through phase change, and SiO2 provides containment. Ag shell can improve light absorption of nanoparticles due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect. Compared with pure nanoparticles, the Sn/SiO2/Ag composite nanoparticles have good abilities of both optical absorption and thermal energy storage, which can improve the performance of volumetric absorption solar collectors at medium to high temperature. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.