Synthesis and thermal properties of nanoencapsulation of paraffin as phase change material for latent heat thermal energy storage

• Main Authors: Nan Zhang, Yanping Yuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2020-10-01
• Series: Energy and Built Environment
• Subjects: Nanoencapsulted PCMs; Encapsulation efficiency; Thermal properties; Thermal energy storage
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666123320300295

In this work, a series of nanoencapsulated phase change materials (NanoPCMs) with paraffin wax (PW) as core and melamine-formaldehyde (MF) as shell were synthesized by the in-situ polymerization method. The morphology, chemical structure and thermal properties of prepared NanoPCMs were characterized by scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimertic analyzer. The results show that the PW is successfully encapsulated in the MF without chemical interaction, and the NanoPCMs present regular spherical shape with the average diameter of 260–450 nm. The encapsulation efficiency of the NanoPCMs increases with the augment of the supplied amount of core material. The maximum encapsulation efficiency of the NanoPCMs can reach up to approximately 75%. The NanoPCMs can maintain excellent thermal reliability and stability after 2000 thermal cycling. The prepared NanoPCMs can be well applied in the latent heat thermal energy storage and thermal management systems due to their remarkable encapsulation efficiency and thermal properties enable them to.