Preparation and Thermal Properties of Hexadecanol-Myristic Acid Eutectics/ Activated Carbon Composites as Shape-stabilized Phase Change Materials in Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

In this study, hexadecanol-myristic acid (HD-MA) binary eutectic mixtures were adsorbed into activated carbon (AC) to prepare the composite phase transition materials(CPCMs). In the hexadecanol-myristic acid/activated carbon (HD-MA/AC) composites, the mixture of HD–MA acted as the phase change energy storage material and the AC was used as the matrix supporting material. Activated carbon is a kind of inorganic supporting material, which has developed pore structure, strong adsorption, high mechanical strength, corrosion resistance and good thermal stability. As the supporting material, activated carbon was helpful to prevent the eutectics from leakage. The chemical structure and crystal phase structure of HD-MA/AC composites were tested by FT-IR and XRD. The microstructure of the composites was observed through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). It was found that the organic binary eutectics were adsorbed on the surface and inside by activated carbon. Thermal properties of the composites were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results of performance test demonstrated that the satisfactory sample CPCM1 melted at 42.38 °C with latent heat of 76.24 J/g and solidified at 38.32 °C with latent heat of 67.08 J/g. The test results of TGA indicated that the prepared composites of hexadecanol-myristic acid/activated carbon possessed great thermal stability and high reliability. It is predicted that the shape-stabilized HD-MA/AC composites have great potential for thermal energy storage.