A 1-Tetradecanol-1, 10-Decanediol Binary Eutectic Mixture/Expanded Graphite Composite Phase Change Materials for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Organic phase change materials (PCMs) are crucial for thermal energy storage but face limitations like fixed phase change temperatures, leakage, and poor thermal conductivity.
• These limitations hinder their scalable application in areas such as building thermal management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To overcome the limitations of organic PCMs by developing a composite material with a wider operational temperature range and enhanced thermal properties.
• To create a stable and efficient phase change material suitable for building thermal management.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of a binary eutectic system using 1-tetradecanol and 1,10-decanediol.
• Compositing the eutectic system with expanded graphite to form a composite phase change material.
• Characterization of thermal properties, phase transition temperatures, latent heat, and cycling stability.

Main Results:

• The composite material exhibited a significantly improved thermal conductivity of 4.642 W/(m·K), approximately 12 times that of the pure eutectic.
• The material showed distinct phase transitions with melting and solidification points at 37.77 °C and 29.38 °C, respectively.
• Excellent cycling stability was observed, retaining over 87% of latent heat after 2000 cycles, with minimal leakage.

Conclusions:

• The developed composite phase change material offers a promising solution for building thermal management due to its enhanced thermal conductivity, tunable phase transition temperatures, and stability.
• This work presents a systematic fabrication approach for composite PCMs, paving the way for advanced thermal energy storage solutions.