Micro-encapsulated paraffin/high-density polyethylene/wood flour composite as form-stable phase change material for thermal energy storage

Six novel polymer-based form-stable composite phase change materials (PCMs), which comprise micro-encapsulated paraffin (MEP) as latent heat storage medium and high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/wood flour compound as supporting material, were prepared by blending and compression molding method for potential latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) applications. Micro-mist graphite (MMG) was added to improve thermal conductivities. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed that the form-stable PCMs have homogeneous constitution and most of MEP particles in them were undamaged. Both the shell of MEP and the matrix prevent molten paraffin from leakage. Therefore, the composite PCMs are described as form-stable PCMs. The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) results showed that the melting and freezing temperatures as well as latent heats of the prepared form-stable PCMs are suitable for potential LHTES applications. Thermal cycling test indicated the form-stable PCMs have good thermal stability although it was subjected to 100 melt–freeze cycles. The thermal conductivity of the form-stable PCM was increased by 17.7% by adding 8.8 wt% MMG. The results of mechanical property test indicated that the addition of MMG has no negative influence on the mechanical properties of form-stable composite PCMs. Taking one with another, these novel form-stable PCMs have the potential for LHTES applications in terms of their proper phase change temperatures, improved thermal conductivities, outstanding leak tightness of molten paraffin and good mechanical properties.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Fatty Acid Blends for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

This article is aimed to prepare the blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with fatty acids (lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids) as shape-stabilized phase change material (PCM), to prove the miscibility of fatty acids with the PVA by microscopic investigation and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and to measure their melting temperature and the latent heat of fusion by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis methods. In the blends, the fatty acids, which are dispersed in the solid network of the polymer, act as latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) material during its solid-liquid phase change when the polymer (PVA) has function of supporting material because of its structural strength. Therefore, the shape-stabilized fatty acids can keep the same shape in a solid shape without leakage of liquid fatty acids by aid of PVA in solid state. The maximum mixture ratio for all fatty acids in the shape-stabilized form was found as 50 wt%. By using DSC analysis method, the melting temperatures and latent heats of the shape-stabilized lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic acids were determined as 39.8, 50.2, 56.2, and 67.4°C and 96.4, 105.3, 121.6, and 132.6 J/g, respectively. The results indicate that the PVA/fatty acids blends as shape-stabilized PCM have great potential for passive solar LHTES applications in terms of their satisfactory thermal properties and utility advantage of without encapsulation.     

Fatty acid eutectic/polymethyl methacrylate composite as form-stable phase change material for thermal energy storage

This work is focused on the preparation and characterization of fatty acid eutectic/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) form-stable phase change material (PCM). Capric acid (CA), lauric acid (LA), myristic acid (MA) and stearic acid (SA) were selected to prepare binary fatty acid eutectic for the sake of decreasing the phase change temperature. Using the method of self-polymerization, CA–LA, CA–MA, CA–SA and LA–MA eutectics acting as the heat-absorbing materials and PMMA serving as the supporting material were compounded in the ratio of 50/50 wt.%. The relations between mass fraction of LA–MA eutectic and latent heat and compressive strength of LA–MA/PMMA composite were discussed, and the feasible maximum mass fraction of LA–MA eutectic was determined to be 70%. CA–LA/PMMA, CA–MA/PMMA, CA–SA/PMMA and LA–MA/PMMA composites were examined to investigate their potential application in building energy conservation. Scanning electron microscope and polarizing optical microscope observations showed that fatty acid eutectic was coated by PMMA thus the composite remained solid when the sample was heated above the melted point of the fatty acid. Fourier-transform infrared results indicated that fatty acid and PMMA had no chemical reaction and exhibited good compatibility with each other. According to the differential scanning calorimetry results, phase change temperatures of CA–LA/PMMA, CA–MA/PMMA, CA–SA/PMMA and LA–MA/PMMA composites were 21.11 °C, 25.16 °C, 26.38 °C and 34.81 °C and their latent heat values were determined to be 76.3 kJ/kg, 69.32 kJ/kg, 59.29 kJ/kg and 80.75 kJ/kg, respectively. Moreover, thermal stability and expansibility of the form-stable PCMs were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and volume expansion coefficient respectively, and the results indicated that the composites were available for building energy conservation.     

Capric-myristic acid/vermiculite composite as form-stable phase change material for thermal energy storage

Phase change materials (PCMs) can be incorporated with building materials to obtain novel form-stable composite PCM which has effective energy storage performance in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems. In this study, capric acid (CA)-myristic acid (MA) eutectic mixture/vermiculite (VMT) composite was prepared as a novel form-stable PCM using vacuum impregnation method. The composite PCM was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) analysis technique. Thermal properties and thermal reliability of the composite PCM were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The CA-MA eutectic mixture could be retained by 20 wt% into pores of the VMT without melted PCM seepage from the composite and therefore, this mixture was described as form-stable composite PCM. Thermal cycling test showed that the form-stable composite PCM has good thermal reliability and chemical stability although it was subjected to 3000 melting/freezing cycling. Thermal conductivity of the form-stable CA-MA/VMT composite PCM was increased by about 85% by introducing 2 wt% expanded graphite (EG) into the composite. The increase in thermal conductivity was confirmed by comparison of the melting and freezing times of the CA-MA/VMT composite with that of CA-MA/VMT/EG composite. The form-stable PCM including EG can be used as energy absorbing building material such as lightweight aggregate for plaster, concrete compounds, fire stop mortar, and component of interior fill for wallboards or hollow bricks because of its good thermal properties, thermal and chemical reliability and thermal conductivity.     

Developing microencapsulated 12‐hydroxystearic acid (HSA) for phase change material use

Phase change materials (PCM) have an increasingly more important role as a thermal energy storage (TES) media. However, leakage problem of PCM causes limitation during their integration in TES systems. Therefore, the encapsulation of PCMs is attracting research interest to extend usage of PCMs in real TES applications in recent years. In this study, hydroxystearic acid (HSA) was encapsulated with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and different PMMA comonomer shells via emulsion polymerization method for the first time in literature. HSA with high melting temperature range (74–78°C) can widen the scope of using PCMs, and the encapsulated form can make it more versatile. The chemical structures, morphologies, and thermophysical properties of capsules were determined by FT‐IR, SEM, DSC, TGA, and thermal infrared camera. Among the produced HSA capsule candidates, PMMA‐HEMA is the most promising with latent heat of 48.5 J/g with melting range of 47 to 85°C. SEM analysis indicated that the capsules have spherical shape with compact surface at nano‐micro (100–440 nm) size range; however, some capsules exhibited agglomeration.     

Stearic acid/polymethylmethacrylate composite as form-stable phase change materials for latent heat thermal energy storage

The aim of this research is to prepare of a novel form-stable composite phase change material (PCM) for the latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) in buildings, passive solar space heating or functional fluid by entrapping of SA into PMMA cell through ultraviolet curing dispersion polymerization. The composite PCM was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) analysis technique. The results show that the form-stable microencapsulated PCM with core/shell structure was formed and the maximum encapsulated proportion of SA in the composite was 51.8 wt.% without melted PCM seepage from the composite. In the shape stabilized microencapsulated PCM, the polymer acts as supporting material to form the microcapsule cell preventing the leakage of PCM from the composite and the SA acts as a PCM encapsulated in the cell of PMMA resin. The oxygen atom of carbonyl group of skeleton is interacted with the hydrogen atom of hydroxyl group of SA. Thermal properties, thermal reliability and heat storage/release performance of the composite PCM were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), FT-IR and thermal cycling test analysis. The melting and freezing temperatures and the latent heats of the composite PCM were measured as 60.4 °C, 50.6 °C and 92.1 J/g, 95.9 J/g, respectively. The results of DSC, FT-IR and thermal cycling test are all show that the thermal reliability of the composite PCM has an imperceptible change. This conclusion indicates that the composite has a good thermal and chemical stability.     

High Density Polyethylene/Paraffin Composites as Form-stable Phase Change Material for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

This article focuses on the preparation and thermo-physical properties of paraffin/high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites as form-stable solid-liquid phase change material (PCM) for thermal energy storage. In the paraffin/HDPE blend, the paraffin (P) dispersed into the HDPE serves as a latent heat storage material when the HDPE, as a supporting material, prevents the melted paraffin leakage thanks to its structural strength. Therefore, this type composite is form-stable and can be used as a PCM without encapsulation for thermal energy storage. In this study, two paraffins with melting temperatures of 48°C–50°C and 63°C–65°C were used. The mass percentages of paraffins in the composites could go high as 76% without any seepage of the paraffin in melted state. The dispersion of the paraffin into the network of the solid HDPE was investigated using scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The melting temperatures and latent heats of the form-stable P1/HDPE and P2/HDPE composite PCMs were determined as 44.32°C and 61.66°C, and 179.63 and 198.14 Jg^?1, by the technique of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of the composite PCMs were improved as about 33.3% for the P1/HDPE and 52.3% for the P2/HDPE by introducing the expanded and exfoliated graphite to the samples in the ratio of 3 wt%. The results reveal that the prepared form-stable composite PCMs have great potential for thermal energy storage applications in terms of their satisfactory thermal properties, improved thermal conductivity and cost-efficiency because of no encapsulation for enhancing heat transfer in paraffin.     

Preparation and characterization of flame retardant form-stable phase change materials composed by EPDM,paraffin and nano magnesium hydroxide

Paraffin, one of the important thermal energy storage materials, possesses various desirable characteristics (e.g. high heat of fusion, variable phase change temperature, self-nucleating, no phase segregation and low cost), but has low thermal stability and is flammable. In the current study, form-stable phase change materials (PCMs) based on EPDM (supported material), paraffin (dispersed phase change material), nano structured magnesium hydroxide (nano-MH) and red phosphorus (RP) with various compositions were prepared. The self-synthesized nano-MH has a kind of lamellar structure with good dispersal as characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The constructional morphology, thermal stability, latent heat and flame retardant properties of as-prepared form-stable PCM blends were evaluated by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and limited oxygen index (LOI) tester, respectively. The SEM and DSC results show that addition of nano-MH and RP has no apparent negative effect on EPDM/paraffin three dimensional netted structures and latent heat. The TGA curves indicate that inducing the nano-MH into the form-stable PCM blends leads to the reinforcement of thermal stability, increasing the amount of char residuals at 700 °C thereby improving the flame retarding performance.     

Morphology and thermal properties of electrospun fatty acids/polyethylene terephthalate composite fibers as novel form-stable phase change materials

The ultrafine fibers based on the composites of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a series of fatty acids, lauric acid (LA), myristic acid (MA), palmitic acid (PA), and stearic acid (SA), were prepared successfully via electrospinning as form-stable phase change materials (PCMs). The morphology and thermal properties of the composite fibers were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. It was found that the average fiber diameter increased generally with the content of fatty acid (LA) in the LA/PET composite fibers. The fibers with the low mass ratio maintained cylindrical shape with smooth surface while the quality became worse when the mass ratio is too high (more than 100/100). Moreover, the latent heat of the composite fibers increased with the increase of LA content and the phase transition temperature of the fibers have no obvious variations compared with LA. In contrast, both the latent heat and phase transition temperature of the fatty acid/PET composite fibers varied with the type of the fatty acids, and could be well maintained after 100 heating-cooling thermal cycles, which demonstrated that the composite fibers had good thermal stability and reliability.     

Thermal conductivity and latent heat thermal energy storage characteristics of paraffin/expanded graphite composite as phase change material

This study aimed determination of proper amount of paraffin (n-docosane) absorbed into expanded graphite (EG) to obtain form-stable composite as phase change material (PCM), examination of the influence of EG addition on the thermal conductivity using transient hot-wire method and investigation of latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) characteristics of paraffin such as melting time, melting temperature and latent heat capacity using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique. The paraffin/EG composites with the mass fraction of 2%, 4%, 7%, and 10% EG were prepared by absorbing liquid paraffin into the EG. The composite PCM with mass fraction of 10% EG was considered as form-stable allowing no leakage of melted paraffin during the solid–liquid phase change due to capillary and surface tension forces of EG. Thermal conductivity of the pure paraffin and the composite PCMs including 2, 4, 7 and 10 wt% EG were measured as 0.22, 0.40, 0.52, 0.68 and 0.82 W/m K, respectively. Melting time test showed that the increasing thermal conductivity of paraffin noticeably decreased its melting time. Furthermore, DSC analysis indicated that changes in the melting temperatures of the composite PCMs were not considerable, and their latent heat capacities were approximately equivalent to the values calculated based on the mass ratios of the paraffin in the composites. It was concluded that the composite PCM with the mass fraction of 10% EG was the most promising one for LHTES applications due to its form-stable property, direct usability without a need of extra storage container, high thermal conductivity, good melting temperature and satisfying latent heat storage capacity.     

Preparation and characterization of nano‐enhanced myristic acid using metal oxide nanoparticles for thermal energy storage

Fatty acids have been broadly used as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage. However, low thermal conductivity limits their performances. This paper investigates the influence of metal oxide nanoparticle addition on myristic acid (MA) as nano‐enhanced PCM (NEPCM). Stability, chemical, and thermal properties were considered. Four types of nanoaprticles, TiO₂, CuO, Al₂O₃, and ZnO, were dispersed in MA at 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2 wt%. Stability and dispersion were checked by sediment photograph capturing and scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive spectroscopy. The Fourier‐transformed infrared (FTIR) and X‐ray diffraction analysis confirmed no chemical interaction between the nanoparticles and MA. The results revealed a ratio of thermal conductivity of 1.50, 1.49, 1.45, and 1.37, respectively, for 2 wt% of ZnO, Al₂O₃, CuO, and TiO₂. The T‐history method confirmed this enhancement. The latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) properties of the nano‐enhanced MA were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry. The latent heat capacities of nano‐enhanced MA samples have dropped between 9.64 and 5.01 % compared with pure MA, and phase change temperature range was not affected significantly. The NEPCM was subjected to 500 thermal cycling, it showed a good thermal reliability as LHTES properties remained unchanged, while FTIR analysis showed similar characteristics compared with uncycled samples, indicating a good chemical stability. Based on the results regarding with the LHTES properties, cycling thermal reliability, and higher thermal conductivity improvement, it can be achieved that the MA/Al₂O₃ (2.0 wt%) and MA/ZnO (2.0 wt%) composites could be better PCMs for solar TES applications.     

Fabrication and characterization of electrospun fatty acid form-stable phase change materials in the presence of copper nanoparticles

Latent heat storage system using phase change materials (PCMs) has been recognized as one of the most useful technologies for energy conservation. In this study, a novel type of fatty acid eutectic of methyl palmitate (MP) and lauric acid (LA)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite phase change fiber is prepared by single electrospinning method. Additionally, copper nanoparticles (CNPs) with different mass ratio are combined for improving the thermal conductivity of the PCM. The structure and morphology of the fabricated composite PCMs are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the thermal properties and performance are also characterized. SEM results show that the liquid fatty acid has been fully stabled by the three-dimensional structure of the fibers. Good compatibility among the components of the composites is also demonstrated. Besides, the addition of nanoparticles leads to an improved thermal conductivity by over 115.2% and a phase transition temperature 21.24 °C as well as a high latent heat of 85.07 J/g. Moreover, excellent thermal reliability of the phase change fiber is confirmed by multiple thermal cycles. Hence, the composite PCM prepared in this study shows a promising potential for thermal energy system such as building insulating and thermal mass regulating textiles.     

Designing behenic acid microcapsules as novel phase change material for thermal energy storage applications at medium temperature

Fatty acids are bio-based materials that can be used as phase change materials (PCMs). Microencapsulation of low carbon number fatty acids for mainly building applications have been realized in previous studies. In this study, behenic acid (BA), a fatty acid with medium melting range (65°C-85°C), has been microencapsulated for the first time. PMMA and its three copolymers were used as shell material of these novel encapsulated PCMs prepared by emulsion polymerization technique. The influences of using different comonomers in shell materials on the thermal, morphological, and chemical properties were investigated. Melting phase change temperature ranges were found as 65°C to 85°C for all capsule candidates. Capsules had uniform spherical geometry with size ranges under 500 nm. The capsules are suggested as novel PCM candidates in this temperature range that has potential applications in industrial waste heat, electronics, solar residential heating, lithium-ion batteries, and automotive application.     

Preparation of pentadecane/poly(melamine‐urea‐formaldehyde) microcapsules for thermal energy storage applications

Phase change materials (PCMs) with suitable melting ranges for thermal energy storage applications are alkanes, paraffins, fatty acids, eutectic mixtures, and inorganic PCMs. Paraffinic hydrocarbons and fatty acids with low solubility in water are usually the preferred candidates. Pentadecane, which is an alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula C₁₅H₃₂, was used as PCM in this study. The pentadecane was microencapsulated with a poly(melamine‐urea‐formaldehyde (MUF)) shell for thermal energy storage. Pentadecane/poly(MUF) microcapsules were prepared by in situ polymerization method. The morphological analysis of pentadecane microcapsules was analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermal properties of microcapsulated pentadecane were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results demonstrated that pentadecane/PUF microcapsules were prepared successfully, and they offer proper phase transition temperature range (8.7°C and 8.1°C) and heat enthalpy values (84.5 and ?88.2 kJ/kg) for thermal energy storage applications. According to the results, it was determined that pentadecane/poly(MUF) microcapsules have good potential for thermal energy storage applications.     

Numerical analysis and parameters optimization of shell-and-tube heat storage unit using three phase change materials

In this paper, a mathematical model of shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit of two-dimension of three phase change materials (PCMs) named PCM1, PCM2 and PCM3 with different high melting temperatures (983 K, 823 K and 670 K, respectively) and heat transfer fluid (HTF: air) with flowing resistance and viscous dissipation based on the enthalpy method has been developed. Instantaneous solid–liquid interface positions and liquid fractions of PCMs as well as the effects of inlet temperatures of the air and lengths of the shell-and-tube LHTES unit on melting times of PCMs were numerically analyzed. The results show that melting rates of PCM3 are the fastest and that of PCM1 are the slowest both x, r directions. It is also found that the melting times of PCM1, PCM2 and PCM3 decrease with increase in inlet temperatures of the air. Moreover, with increase in inlet temperatures of the air, decreasing degree of their melting times are different, decreasing degree of the melting time of PCM1 is the biggest and that of PCM3 is the smallest. Considering actual application of solar thermal power, we suggest that the optimum lengths are L₁ = 250 mm, L₂ = 400 mm, L₃ = 550 mm (L = 1200 mm) which corresponds to the same melting times of PCM1, PCM2 and PCM3 are about 3230 s and inlet temperature of the air is about 1200 K. The present analysis provides theoretical guidance for designing optimization of the shell-and-tube LHTES unit with three PCMs for solar thermal power.     

Study on preparation and thermal properties of binary fatty acid/diatomite shape-stabilized phase change materials

The choice of fatty acids as shape-stabilized phase change materials (PCMs) will increase the feasibilities of PCMs in practical applications due to the low price of the fatty acids. Compounding different fatty acids for each other is an effective way to obtain a PCM with a suitable phase-transition temperature. In this study, a series of binary fatty acids composed by capric acid, lauric acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid for each other were prepared using the phase diagram thermal dynamics calculation method. Then these binary fatty acids are absorbed in four kinds of diatomites with different specific areas, which act as a supporting material, to prepare shape-stabilized PCMs. The prepared shape-stabilized PCMs are characterized by the Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis method. The results show that there is an optimum absorption ratio between binary fatty acids and the diatomite. The latent heat of capric-lauric acid/diatomite decreases to 57% of that of capric-lauric acid, and the phase-transition temperature rises from 16.36 to 16.74 °C when the capric-lauric acid is absorbed in the diatomite. The prepared capric-lauric acid/diatomite composite PCM has proper melting temperatures and latent heat for thermal energy storage application in buildings.     

Synthesis and thermal energy storage characteristics of polystyrene-graft-palmitic acid copolymers as solid-solid phase change materials

A series of polystyrene graft palmitic acid (PA) copolymers as novel polymeric solid-solid phase change materials (PCMs) were synthesized. In solid-solid PCMs, polystyrene is the skeleton and PA is a functional side chain that stores and releases heat during its phase transition process. The heat storage of copolymers is due to phase transition between crystalline and amorphous states of the soft segment PA in copolymer and the hard segment polystyrene restricted the free movement of molecular chains of the soft segments even above the phase transition temperature. The copolymers always remain in the solid state during the phase transition processing and therefore they are described as form-stable PCM. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and polarization optical microscopy (POM) analyses were performed to investigate the chemical structures and crystalline morphology. Thermal energy storage properties, thermal reliability and thermal stability of the PCMs were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) methods. Thermal conductivities of the PCMs were also measured using thermal property analyzer. The analysis results indicated that the PA chains were successfully grafted onto the polystyrene backbone and the copolymers showed typical solid-solid phase transition properties. Moreover, thermal cycling test showed that the copolymers have good thermal reliability and chemical stability although they were subjected to 5000 heating/cooling cycling. The synthesized polystyrene-graft-PA copolymers as novel solid-solid PCMs have considerable potential for such as underfloor heating, thermo-regulated fibers and heating and cooling of agricultural greenhouses. Especially, the polystyrene-graft-PA copolymer including 75% PA is the most attractive PCM due to its highest latent heat storage capacity in the synthesized copolymer PCMs.     

Lauric and myristic acids eutectic mixture as phase change material for low‐temperature heating applications

Lauric acid (m.p.: 42.6°C) and myristic acid (m.p.: 52.2°C) are phase change materials (PCM) having quite high melting points which can limit their use in low‐temperature solar applications such as solar space heating and greenhouse heating. However, their melting temperatures can be tailored to appropriate value by preparing a eutectic mixture of lauric acid (LA) and myristic acid (MA). In the present study, the thermal analysis based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique shows that the mixture of 66.0 wt% LA forms a eutectic mixture having melting temperature of 34.2°C and the latent heat of fusion of 166.8 J g^?1. This study also considers the experimental establishment of thermal characteristics of the eutectic PCM in a vertical concentric pipe‐in‐pipe heat storage system. Thermal performance of the PCM was evaluated with respect to the effect of inlet temperature and mass flow rate of the heat transfer fluid on those characteristics during the heat charging and discharging processes. The DSC thermal analysis and the experimental results indicate that the LA–MA eutectic PCM can be potential material for low‐temperature solar energy storage applications in terms of its thermo‐physical and thermal characteristics. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The micro‐/nano‐PCMs for thermal energy storage systems: A state of art review

With advancement in technology—nanotechnology, various thermal energy storage (TES) materials have been invented and modified with promising thermal transport properties. Solid‐liquid phase change materials (PCMs) have been extensively used as TES materials for various energy applications due to their highly favourable thermal properties. The class of PCMs, organic phase change materials (OPCMs), has more potential and advantages over inorganic phase change materials (IPCMs), having high phase change enthalpy. However, OPCMs possess low thermal conductivity as well as density and suffer leakage during the melting phase. The encapsulation technologies (ie, micro and nano) of PCMs, with organic and inorganic materials, have a tendency to enhance the thermal conductivity, effective heat transfer, and leakage issues as TES materials. The encapsulation of PCMs involves several technologies to develop at both micro and nano levels, called micro‐encapsulated PCMs (micro‐PCM) and nano‐encapsulated PCMs (nano‐PCM), respectively. This study covers a wide range of preparation methods, thermal and morphological characteristics, stability, applications, and future perspective of micro‐/nano‐PCMs as TES materials. The potential applications, such as solar‐to‐thermal and electrical‐to‐thermal conversions, thermal management, building, textile, foam, medical industry of micro‐ and nano‐PCMs, are reviewed critically. Finally, this review paper highlights the emerging future research paths of micro‐/nano‐PCMs for thermal energy storage.     

Influences of expanded graphite on structural morphology and thermal performance of composite phase change materials consisting of fatty acid eutectics and electrospun PA6 nanofibrous mats

In the present work, three fatty acid eutectics of capric acid (CA)–lauric acid (LA), capric acid–palmitic acid (PA), and capric acid–stearic acid (SA) were prepared through melt-blending followed by ultrasonication and were investigated as model phase change materials (PCMs); for comparison, the individual fatty acid of CA was also studied. The DSC measurements indicated that the phase transition temperatures of fatty acid eutectics were lower than those of individual fatty acid of CA. Thereafter, the polyamide 6 (PA6) nanofibers and PA6/EG composite nanofibers with 10 wt.% expanded graphite (EG) were prepared by electrospinning; and then composite PCMs with fatty acid eutectics absorbed in and/or supported by the overlaid mats of electrospun nanofibers (e.g., PA6 and PA6/EG) were explored for storage and retrieval of thermal energy. Influences of the EG on structural morphologies, thermal energy storage properties and thermal energy storage/retrieval rates of composite PCMs were respectively characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and measurement of melting/freezing times. The results indicated that the additions of EG caused the interfaces between fatty acid eutectics and PA6 nanofibrous mats to become more illegible; increased the absorption capacity of fatty acid eutectics within nanofibrous mats. The enthalpies of melting and crystallization of composite PCMs with EG were higher than those of the corresponding composite PCMs without EG, whereas there were no appreciable changes on the phase transition temperatures. The EG improved thermal energy storage/retrieval rates of composite PCMs were also confirmed by comparing the melting/freezing times of CA/PA6/EG and CA–SA/PA6/EG with those of CA/PA6 and CA–SA/PA6, respectively. The results from the SEM observation showed that composite PCMs had no or little variations in shape and surface morphology after heating/cooling processes.