Novel method for fabricating high thermal conductivity form-stable Phase Change Materials

Application of phase change materials (PCM) for thermal energy storage (TES) system is considered as one of the key methods of decreasing energy consumption within the built environment. However, the low thermal conductivities of PCMs tend to affect the associated heat transfer capabilities during charging and discharging processes thus limiting their full potentials. To this end, fabrication of PCMs with high thermal conductivity porous materials have been carried out by various researchers but have found the fabrication processes to be relatively complex and time consuming. This study was therefore based on a novel approach by vacuum drying paraffin-in-water emulsion to produce a high thermal conductivity form-stable PCM (GO-2). The GO-2 sample which was prepared with 0.1 wt% graphene-oxide (GO) as a surfactant and 10wt % carbon black as thermal conductivity enhancement material achieved energy storage capacity of 192 kJ/kg with a melting temperature of 23.60°C. The thermal stability temperature was increased by 34°C whereas the thermal conductivity also increased as much as twice that of the paraffin.