High Latent Heat and Recyclable Shape Stable Phase Change Materials with Dynamic Ester Bonds for Thermal Management

Abstract

Organic phase-change materials (PCMs) are extensively utilized for thermal energy storage and thermal management. However, they often suffer from low thermal conductivity and a reduction in latent heat after shape stabilization. In this study, a novel shape-stabilized PCM (SSPCMs) with high latent heat was synthesized via the carboxyl/epoxy reaction between carboxyl-functionalized polyethylene glycol (PEG-COOH), mono-carboxylic lauric acid (LA) and glycerol triglycidyl ether (GTE). The carboxyl/epoxy reaction results in a polymer network containing dynamic ester bonds, which impart excellent leak-proof performance and recyclability to the prepared SSPCMs. Results show that the confined PEG and LA chains provide a high latent heat of 121.0 J g⁻¹. Moreover, incorporating 30wt% boron nitride (BN) increases the thermal conductivity of the SSPCMs composite to 1.41 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. Thermal-management experiments demonstrate that the resulting material can be efficiently employed as a thermal interface material.