The 10th International Conference on Energy, Resources, Environment and Sustainable Development (ERESD 2024)

Phase change materials (PCMs) face scalability challenges for industrial use due to problems such as phase transition leakage, less-than-ideal thermal conductivity, and limited photothermal absorption. Our study addresses these issues by developing sophisticated phase change composites (PCCs) reinforced with Cu nanoparticle-laden porous carbon rolls. These rolls, formed from cotton cloth, serve as a matrix for embedding Cu nanoparticles, which significantly enhance interfacial thermal conductivity. The synthesis of these PCCs involves a vacuum impregnation technique using paraffin wax as the PCM core, resulting in a composite with enhanced thermal conductivity and robust structural integrity. This novel approach boosts anisotropic thermal conductivity to 3.4 W/(m·K) along the axial direction and 2 W/(m·K) radially. These PCCs demonstrate superior solar-thermal-electric energy conversion capabilities, making them promising candidates for applications in solar energy harvesting, thermal energy storage, and effective thermal regulation systems.

Phase change composites; Cu nanoparticles; Anisotropic carbon rolls; Thermal conductivity; Solar-thermal-electric energy conversion