Development of Novel Polypropylene Syntactic Foams Containing Paraffin Microcapsules for Thermal Energy Storage...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Polypropylene (PP) syntactic foams (SFs) with hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) offer low density and good mechanical properties.
• Incorporating organic Phase Change Materials (PCMs) can enhance SF multifunctionality for thermal energy storage (TES).

Purpose of the Study:

• To embed encapsulated paraffin (PCM) into compatibilized PP SFs.
• To investigate the impact of PCM and HGM content on material properties.
• To develop multifunctional materials with tunable thermo-mechanical performance.

Main Methods:

• Melt compounding and hot pressing were used to create PP SFs with varying amounts of PCM and HGMs.
• Rheological, morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties were systematically evaluated.

Main Results:

• Introduction of HGMs reduced density and thermal conductivity.
• PCM addition increased the enthalpy of fusion (TES capability) proportionally to concentration.
• HGMs improved mechanical properties, while PCMs reduced them.
• Rheological properties were significantly influenced by both PCM and HGM incorporation.

Conclusions:

• Combining PCMs and HGMs in a PP matrix yields multifunctional materials.
• These materials exhibit tunable thermo-mechanical properties.
• Potential applications span automotive, oil, textile, electronics, and aerospace industries.