Issue 9, 2019

Vertically aligned carbon fibers as supporting scaffolds for phase change composites with anisotropic thermal conductivity and good shape stability

Abstract

The wide application of organic phase change materials for thermal energy storage and management is limited by their low thermal conductivity and poor shape stability. In this work, anisotropic thermally conductive and shape-stabilized phase change composites (PCCs) were successfully prepared with vertically aligned carbon fibers as supporting scaffolds. The aligned and hollow carbon fiber scaffolds with different densities were facilely fabricated by the direct carbonization of rolled cotton sheets with aligned and hollow cellulose fibers. PCCs were obtained by vacuum impregnation of paraffin wax. Because of the interconnected hollow carbon fiber frameworks with vertically aligned fibers and high porosity, PCCs present enhanced anisotropic thermal conductivity and good shape stability against leakage. The thermal conductivity in the axial direction along the fibers is higher than that in the lateral direction, since the aligned fiber scaffolds act as the thermal conduction pathway. The thermal conductivity of a PCC with a carbon ratio of 8.8 wt% is 0.77 W K−1 m−1 (>3 times that of pure paraffin) in the axial direction, while the value in the lateral direction is 0.58 W K−1 m−1. This work provides a novel strategy for designing anisotropic thermally conductive and shape-stabilized PCCs with potential applications in advanced thermal management and storage.

Graphical abstract: Vertically aligned carbon fibers as supporting scaffolds for phase change composites with anisotropic thermal conductivity and good shape stability

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Nov 2018
Accepted
29 Jan 2019
First published
29 Jan 2019

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2019,7, 4934-4940

Vertically aligned carbon fibers as supporting scaffolds for phase change composites with anisotropic thermal conductivity and good shape stability

N. Sheng, R. Zhu, K. Dong, T. Nomura, C. Zhu, Y. Aoki, H. Habazaki and T. Akiyama, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2019, 7, 4934 DOI: 10.1039/C8TA11329G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements