Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Journal of Applied Polymer Science
5 years ago

Porosity reduction of polyethylene glycol phase change materials by using nanoscale thermal-energy-conducting medium during crystallization process

Porosity reduction of polyethylene glycol phase change materials by using nanoscale thermal-energy-conducting medium during crystallization process
Xiaoling Cao, Yanping Yuan, Haiquan Zhang, Qinrong Sun
Poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) are phase change materials (PCMs) that exhibit undesirable heat transfer properties, which restrict their industrial utility. Apart from the intrinsic material properties, a large quantity of micropores in the crystalline PEG polymers cause poor heat transfer performance. In this work, the formation and growth of micropores are reported through in situ characterization. The addition of a nanoscale thermal-energy-conducting medium into PCMs has been proposed for reducing their porosity. The mechanism for reducing porosity is reported for prepared composite PCMs. The intrinsic causes are thought to be the following. Metal oxide nanoparticles can migrate with the liquid PEG flow, which can reduce the thermal stresses in the crystal growth process. In addition, the nanoscale medium promotes heterogeneous nucleation. The results of this study show that reducing the porosity of the polymer crystals is an important approach for improving the heat transfer properties of the PEG PCMs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45446.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/app.45446

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