Effects of carbon nanotubes additive on thermal conductivity and thermal energy storage properties of a novel composite phase change material

Abstract

Fatty acids are commonly preferred as phase change materials for passive solar thermoregulation due to their several advantageous latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) properties. However, further storage container requirement of fatty acids against leakage problem during heating period and also low thermal conductivity significantly limit their application fields. To overcome these drawbacks of capric acid–stearic acid eutectic mixture as phase change material, it was first impregnated with expanded vermiculite clay by melting/blending method and then doped with carbon nanotubes. The effects of carbon nanotubes additive on the chemical/morphological structures and LHTES properties of the composite phase change material and thermal enhanced change phase change materials were investigated by scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis analysis techniques. The differential scanning calorimetry results showed that the form-stable composite phase change materials and thermal enhanced composite phase change materials have melting temperatures in the range of 24.35–24.64℃ and latent heat capacities between 76.32 and 73.13 J/g. Thermal conductivity of the composite phase change materials was increased as 83.3, 125.0 and 258.3% by carbon nanotubes doping 1, 3 and 5 wt%. The heat charging and discharging times of the thermal enhanced -composite phase change materials were reduced appreciably due to the enhanced thermal conductivity without notably influencing their LHTES properties. Furthermore, the thermal cycling test and thermogravimetric analysis findings proved that all fabricated composites had admirable thermal durability, cycling LHTES performance and chemical stability.