Research on novel carbon aerogel and eutectic salt hydrates as composite phase change materials: Heat capacity,...

Depositing salt hydrates into carbon aerogel is a novel technique to prepare composite phase change materials. In the present study, the composite phase change material was prepared using the functional carbon aerogels and eutectic salt hydrates while its heat storage capacity, leakage resistance, thermal stability and cycle reliability were analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) analyses. The results showed that an uptake of eutectic salt hydrates of 81.7 % could be achieved by rice-modified carbon aerogels with slit pores. Moreover, the structures of salt hydrates did not change due to encapsulation. Furthermore, the water loss of salt hydrates was investigated by direct observation and TG/DTG curves, and it was found that the dehydration regime was introduced for a brief period. The thermal cycle reliability of the proposed composite phase change materials was analyzed by introducing 100 cycles within different temperature ranges and the reductions in heat storage capacity were recorded. The study presents a specific strategy to develop the functional carbon aerogels and the derived novel composite phase change materials for thermal energy storage, suggesting a specified design strategy for functional materials. The proposed materials offer a promising prospect for applications in low- and moderate-temperature thermal energy storage systems.