Doping Magnesium Hydroxide with Ce(NO3)3 : A Promising Candidate Thermochemical Energy Storage Materials

Abstract

Development of advanced materials with high energy density for thermochemical energy storage may contribute to the efficient utilization of solar energy and waste heat. In this work, Ce(NO3)3/Mg(OH)2 as a new heat storage material for TCEs was investigated. The effect of Ce(NO3)3 on dehydration of Mg(OH)2 was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry techniques. The addition of Ce(NO3)3 can significantly reduce the dehydration temperature and accelerate the dehydration of Mg(OH)2. The temperature reduction depends on the Ce(NO3)3 content W and reaches 29 °C at W = 10 wt%, while the dehydration heat was reduced only slightly (1086 J/g). The new material exhibits an adjustable decomposition temperature, fast dehydration rate and large heat storage density, and may be considered as a promising candidate for thermochemical storage of concentrated solar energy.