Fabrication and Thermal Characterization of Carbon-Based Composite Phase Change Material for Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Applications

This study describes a comprehensive exploration into the fabrication and thermal analysis of composite phase change materials (CPCMs) that have been enriched with carbon nanoparticles such as graphene nanoparticles (GNPs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The primary objective of this research is to augment the thermal properties of these composite PCMs. The study employs a systematic experimental methodology encompassing the selection of base materials and additives, composite PCM preparation, and characterization of their material properties. The investigation reports the improvement in the cooling rate of Paraffin-based PCMs because of the integration of the selected nanoparticles. The enhancements in cooling rate are marked, with an increase of 13.719%, 8.841%, 5.792%, and 1.829% for 1 wt% Paraffin/GNPs, 1 wt% Paraffin/MWCNT, 2 wt% Paraffin/MWCNT, and 2 wt% Paraffin/GNPs composite PCM, respectively. However, future investigations are needed to exercise discretion in determining the optimal size and concentration of nanoparticles to extract the maximum benefits of the cooling rate. In addition, the incorporation of nanoparticles was found to modify the phase transition of the base PCM, resulting in preserving high energy storage capacity. Further scrutiny of thermal analysis demonstrated that the fabricated nano-enhanced phase change materials (NePCMs) exhibit good thermal stability. The fabricated NePCMs should be promising contenders for applications pertaining to solar energy storage.