Thermal performance evaluation of fatty acid ester and paraffin based mixed SSPCMs using exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP)

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) have been used in various fields including the materials of buildings. In this research, mixed shape-stabilized PCMs (Mixed SSPCMs) were prepared by impregnating coconut oil and n-hexadecane into exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP) through a vacuum impregnate method. Coconut oil is fatty acid ester PCM which is relatively economical in comparison to other PCMs, and n-hexadecane is paraffin PCM that has high latent heat capacity. Drawbacks include leakage in a liquid state and low thermal conductivity resolved by xGnP. When preparing Mixed SSPCMs, coconut oil and n-hexadecane were impregnated at different proportions, namely 70:30, 50:50, 30:70 wt %. Mixed SSPCMs were analyzed through SEM, FT-IR, DSC, TGA and TCi. As a result, we confirmed the microstructure, chemical stability, thermal properties, thermal stability and thermal conductivity of Mixed SSPCMs. Latent heat capacity of Mixed SSPCMs were 89.06, 104.30 and 124.50 J/g while those of SSPCMs containing single PCM were 82.34 and 96.40 J/g. Thermal conductivity of Mixed SSPCMs was more than 284% higher than that of pure coconut oil and n-hexadecane. Finally, we confirmed that coconut oil and n-hexadecane were impregnated into xGnP, and the Mixed SSPCMs have high thermal durability.