Phase change composites of octadecane and gallium with expanded graphite as a carrier

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) have attracted more and more attention in the field of energy and thermal management due to the characteristic of exchanging heat with small temperature change. In order to obtain perfect PCMs, previous researchers usually prepared various phase change composites (PCCs), but there is still a gap toward the goal. Perhaps the development of PCMs with adjustable properties in a wide range to meet different needs is a feasible option. Given that the properties of organic PCMs and metal PCMs are highly complementary, using expanded graphite (EG) as a mediator, a stable PCC of octadecane and gallium that are difficult to directly mix, was successfully prepared. Octadecane and gallium are stored in the microstructures of EG, and the microstructures of EG play the role of storing nucleation embryos, and the suppression of supercooling can reach more than 86.82%. The test results showed that the properties of the PCC are indeed a balance between octadecane and gallium, and can be adjusted in a wide range. The PCC also has good structural and chemical stability, which can effectively avoid the corrosion risk caused by gallium leakage. The PCC samples containing equal amounts of gallium and paraffin were selected for thermal management performance tests. The results indicated that the PCC has application potential in related fields, and can provide a reference for the development of other PCCs.