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The use of phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal storage, thermal management, and thermal insulation has been widespread for many years. Thermal storage systems (TES) based on PCMs can be improved and optimized by adding nanoparticles (NPs) to them. Throughout this study, PCM nanocomposites (NCs) based on paraffin wax (PW) loaded by anatase titania (TiO2) NPs were fabricated and characterized to examine their thermal performance as phase change materials. The as-synthesized TiO2 NPs were obtained by hydrolysis technique and showed a well-defined spherical shape with a diameter in the nanoscale range and a crystallite size ~ 22.75 nm. Throughout the used concentrations of TiO2 NPs, 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, and 0.5%, the morphological feature for the PW/TiO2 NCs revealed a good dispersion of NPs in PW. The non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements at a constant heating rate of 10 °C min−1 were used in order to get the melting point (Tm), latent heat of fusion (LH), and latent heat rate (LHR) as a function of TiO2 NP concentrations for the investigated PW/TiO2 NCs. Both LH and LHR values for PW/TiO2 NCs are higher than those obtained for a pure PW sample. The significant enhancement in LH and LHR values for PW/TiO2 NCs was found to be 21.2% and 134.3% in comparison with the pure PW sample, respectively. The thermal stability of the investigated PW/TiO2 NCs was examined using thermal gravimetric (TG) scans. It is found that the thermal stability varies with TiO2 NP concentrations with a non-monotonic trend. At concentrations up to 0.25 mass%, the thermal stability improved. For concentrations over 0.25 mass%, the degradation process became rapid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MnO2 particles were prepared by a hydrothermal method and characterized via the SEM imaging, XRD and FTIR analyses, showing that the individual particles were spherical and less than 1.0 μm in diameter but were clustered in α type crystal. The particles were then added into the n-octadecane to form a new class of phase-change energy storage composites. After that, the composite powder was wrapped into polyethylene by the suspension polymerization, forming microcapsules with an average size 4.9–5.6 μm in diameter. Eventually the morphology and thermal properties of the microcapsules were analyzed. No forming of chemical bond between the core material and the shell material was found during the microcapsule synthesis process. The latent heat and encapsulation efficiency of the microcapsules with addition of 0.5 mass% MnO2 particles in the n-octadecane were measured at 107.5 ± 1.3 J g−1 and 95.3 ± 1.2%, respectively, which are higher than the microcapsules with pure n-octadecane, measured at 84.9 ± 1.2 J g−1 and 75.3 ± 1.4%, respectively. The thermal conductivity of the n-octadecane microcapsules modified with 0.5 mass% MnO2 was enhanced by about 103.3% at 15.0 °C compared with the microcapsules without MnO2. Thermogravimetric and thermal cycling studies showed that the modified new microcapsules had good thermal stability. Such a modification provided an effective way to prepare phase-change energy storage microcapsules with better thermal properties and higher encapsulation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel composite of SrCO3-microencapsulated palmitic acid (PA) (PA@SrCO3 microcapsules) was prepared an evaluated as a phase-change material through a self-assembly approach. Samples of the material were studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometery (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine the composition, crystalloid phase, microstructure, and morphology of the product. Also differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to monitor the thermal behavior of the PA@SrCO3 microcapsules. The data obtained through XRD and FTIR indicated the presence of characteristic peaks of PA and SrCO3, which is only possible when the species do not chemically react with each other. SEM images indicated the PA@SrCO3 microcapsules to be spheres with rough surfaces and average diameters of 1.5–2 µm. TEM images proved the samples as being composed of PA cores encapsulated in a SrCO3 coating. The DSC results showed that the samples had phase-change behaviors, similar to those of pristine PA (melting point = 66.9 °C, latent melting heat = 48.8 J g−1, freezing point = 55.7 °C, latent freezing heat = 43.2 J g−1, at a microencapsulation ratio of 43.92%), and TGA results showed improvements in the thermal stability of PA@SrCO3 microcapsules as opposed to PA, due to the presence of the SrCO3 shell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethylene glycol (PEG)/active carbon granule (ACG) and/or expanded graphite (EG) composite as a shape-stabilized phase change materials (PCMs) were firstly prepared by a melt blending via novel dynamic impregnating method which can be applied to air conditioning system in the middle of the heat medium, radiant cooling systems, etc. Various characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, differential scanning calorimeter, thermal gravimetry (TG) and thermal conductivity were performed to investigate the crystalline and thermal properties of the PCMs. The results indicated that phase change temperatures and enthalpies were decreased as the mass percentage of PEG was decreased. The crystallinity of PEG in the PCMs decreased with the increase in the ACG and/or EG content. And, the TG and thermal conductivity results showed that the thermal conductivity of PEG-based PCMs could be improved when ACG and/or EG was introduced. Interestingly, compared to PEG/ACG PCMs, the PEG/EG PCMs had higher crystallinity, better thermal conductivity. A reasonable physical model was also established to analyze the packing theory for PEG/ACG and/or PCM/EG PCMs. Notably, this study will provide an novel and efficient fabrication method of shape-stabilized polymer-based PCMs for heat storage application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with fabrication, thermal properties and thermal reliabilities of microencapsulated paraffin by suspension-like copolymerization of ethyl methacrylate (EMA) with acrylic acid (AA) and styrene (St). Trimethylolpropanetriacrylate (TMPTA) was employed as crosslinking agents. The microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCMs) were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analysis (TG). The microcapsule with P(EMA-co-AA-co-St-co-TMPTA) copolymer as shell exhibits higher phase change enthalpies of melting (117.8 J g) and crystallization (115.3 J g) compared with the microcapsule with P(EMA-co-AA-co-TMPTA) copolymer. TG analysis demonstrated that the thermal resistant temperatures of these two MicroPCMs were increased by more than 10 °C compared with the raw paraffin. The PCMs content of these two MicroPCMs dropped by <6 % after 1000 thermal cycling. Thermal images showed that the foam with microcapsule exhibits an upgraded thermal regulation capacity. As a consequence, microcapsules with EMA-based copolymer possess good potentials for thermal energy storage and thermal regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the theory calculation, the capric-palmitic-stearic (CA-PA-SA) ternary eutectic mixture was prepared with melting and freezing temperature of 19.93 and 16.84 °C, respectively. Regarding CA-PA-SA as phase change materials (PCMs), and activated carbon (AC) as the additive, the CA-PA-SA/AC composites can be prepared by physical blend method which can be applied to high-temperature cooling application in solar cooling systems, radiant cooling systems, etc. A comprehensive study of the structure, thermal properties, thermal stability, thermal durability and thermal storage-release characteristic of CA-PA-SA/AC composites was conducted through the FT-IR, DSC, TG, accelerated thermal cycling test and melting-freezing experiments. The results show that, with the increase in AC content, the melting temperature of CA-PA-SA/AC composites decreases gradually, whereas the freezing temperature increases. And the addition of AC can enhance the thermal stability, the thermal durability and the thermal storage-release rate of PCM: the thermal stability of PCM1-PCM4 is much greater than that of pure mixture, and its storage time was reduced by 37, 31, 23 and 9 %, respectively, while its release time was reduced by 67, 58, 48 and 43 % respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stearic acid/diatomite composite form-stable phase change materials (PCMs) have been prepared by using a direct impregnation method without vacuum treatment. The surface morphology, chemical compatibility, thermal properties and thermal stability were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), respectively. The results show that there are only physical interactions between stearic acid and diatomite in composite PCM. XRD analysis reveals that crystal type is not affected by composite technology of SA/diatomite composite form-stable PCM with decrease in crystal size due to the limited pores in diatomite. The melting and freezing temperatures of stearic acid/diatomite composite, respectively, are 52.3 and 48.4 °C. The latent heat of SA/diatomite composite reaches 57.1 J g, potential to be used in a practical application. TG result indicates that the decomposition of SA/diatomite composite starts at 192 °C, implying that the SA/diatomite has a good thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on preparation and thermal properties of poly(stearyl methacrylate) shell (PSMA) microcapsules containing n-octadecane as a phase change material (PCM). Pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were employed as crosslinking agents. The surface morphologies, particle sizes, and distributions of the microencapsulated phase change material (microPCM) were studied by scanning electron microscopy. The thermal properties, thermal reliabilities, and thermal stabilities of the microPCMs were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analysis. The microPCM with DVB exhibits higher phase change enthalpies of melting (87.9 J g) and crystallization (94.8 J g) and a greater thermal stability in comparison with the microPCM with PETA. The phase change temperatures and enthalpies of the microPCMs varied little after thermal cycles. Thermal images showed that the gypsum board with PSMA/ n-octadecane microPCM possessed temperature-regulated property. Therefore, microencapsulated n-octadecane with PSMA as shell has good thermal energy storage and thermal regulation potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]