Phase change materials of paraffin in h-BN porous scaffolds with enhanced thermal conductivity and form stability

Abstract Low thermal conductivity and leakage after melting are the two main issues limited the application of phase change materials (PCMs). Here, to improve the thermal conductivity and hamper the leakage after melting, PCMs were fabricated by infiltrating paraffin into h-BN porous scaffolds with continuous thermal conductive paths. The latent heat of fusion of the resultant PCMs containing 18 wt% h-BN was 165.4 ± 1.7 J/g, and the thermal conductivity was as high as 0.85 W/mK. The thermal conductivity increased approximately 600% compared to the pure paraffin, and was over twice of the composites fabricated by conventional blending of paraffin and h-BN. The enhanced thermal conductivity obviously shortened the phase change process, indicating more efficient in energy storage and release. In addition, the h-BN scaffolds endowed the PCMs shape stability under molten state and prevented the leakage of molten paraffin. This approach to fabricate form-stable PCMs with high thermal conductivity may extend to other thermal management applications.

[1]  Lei Zhang,et al.  Thermal and electrical conductivity enhancement of graphite nanoplatelets on form-stable polyethylene glycol/polymethyl methacrylate composite phase change materials , 2012 .

[2]  Shuhui Yu,et al.  Artificial nacre-like papers based on noncovalent functionalized boron nitride nanosheets with excellent mechanical and thermally conductive properties. , 2015, Nanoscale.

[3]  Jin-Woo Oh,et al.  Anisotropically Alignable Magnetic Boron Nitride Platelets Decorated with Iron Oxide Nanoparticles , 2013 .

[4]  Wei Yang,et al.  Hybrid graphene aerogels/phase change material composites: Thermal conductivity, shape-stabilization and light-to-thermal energy storage , 2016 .

[5]  X. Zhang,et al.  Preparation and thermal energy properties of paraffin/halloysite nanotube composite as form-stable phase change material , 2012 .

[6]  Z. Zainal,et al.  Encapsulation techniques for organic phase change materials as thermal energy storage medium: A review , 2015 .

[7]  Jianping Zhu,et al.  Preparation and properties of gypsum based energy storage materials with capric acid–palmitic acid/expanded perlite composite PCM , 2015 .

[8]  Xin Fang,et al.  Thermal energy storage performance of paraffin-based composite phase change materials filled with hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets , 2014 .

[9]  Zhongzhen Yu,et al.  Cellulose/graphene aerogel supported phase change composites with high thermal conductivity and good shape stability for thermal energy storage , 2016 .

[10]  K. Niihara,et al.  Modification of BN nanosheets and their thermal conducting properties in nanocomposite film with polysiloxane according to the orientation of BN , 2011 .

[11]  R. K. Sharma,et al.  Developments in organic solid–liquid phase change materials and their applications in thermal energy storage , 2015 .

[12]  Jiliang Wang,et al.  Preparation and properties of lauric acid/diatomite composites as novel form-stable phase change materials for thermal energy storage , 2015 .

[13]  Jian Xu,et al.  Bioinspired modification of h-BN for high thermal conductive composite films with aligned structure. , 2015, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[14]  K. Pielichowski,et al.  Phase change materials for thermal energy storage , 2014 .

[15]  Sumin Kim,et al.  Preparation of energy efficient paraffinic PCMs/expanded vermiculite and perlite composites for energy saving in buildings , 2015 .

[16]  Lei Zhang,et al.  Characterization of polymethyl methacrylate/polyethylene glycol/aluminum nitride composite as form-stable phase change material prepared by in situ polymerization method , 2011 .

[17]  A. Aydın.  In situ preparation and characterization of encapsulated high-chain fatty acid ester-based phase change material (PCM) in poly(urethane-urea) by using amino alcohol , 2013 .

[18]  Gengchao Wang,et al.  Improving thermal conductivity and decreasing supercooling of paraffin phase change materials by n-octadecylamine-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes , 2014 .

[19]  Yajuan Zhong,et al.  Effect of graphene aerogel on thermal behavior of phase change materials for thermal management , 2013 .

[20]  R. Sun,et al.  Ice-Templated Assembly Strategy to Construct 3D Boron Nitride Nanosheet Networks in Polymer Composites for Thermal Conductivity Improvement. , 2015, Small.

[21]  Ni Zhang,et al.  Preparation and thermal energy storage properties of paraffin/expanded graphite composite phase change material , 2012 .

[22]  A. Sharma,et al.  Review on thermal energy storage with phase change materials and applications , 2009 .

[23]  M. Hawlader,et al.  Microencapsulated PCM thermal-energy storage system , 2003 .

[24]  Younan Xia,et al.  Emerging applications of phase-change materials (PCMs): teaching an old dog new tricks. , 2014, Angewandte Chemie.

[25]  Jinyue Yan,et al.  Enhanced thermal conductivity and thermal performance of form-stable composite phase change materials by using β-Aluminum nitride , 2009 .

[26]  Pramod B. Salunkhe,et al.  A review on effect of phase change material encapsulation on the thermal performance of a system , 2012 .

[27]  Shufen Zhang,et al.  PEG/SiO2–Al2O3 hybrid form-stable phase change materials with enhanced thermal conductivity , 2014 .

[28]  Zhenzhong Yang,et al.  Synthesis and properties of paraffin capsules as phase change materials , 2008 .

[29]  Jian Xu,et al.  Fabrication of oriented hBN scaffolds for thermal interface materials , 2016 .

[30]  Jinyue Yan,et al.  Preparation and thermal properties of polyethylene glycol/expanded graphite blends for energy storage , 2009 .

[31]  S. Singh,et al.  Applications of organic phase change materials for thermal comfort in buildings , 2014 .