Hybrid Microencapsulated Phase-Change Material and Carbon Nanotube Suspensions toward Solar Energy Conversion and Storage

Jun Li, Lisi Jia, Longjian Li, Zehang Huang and Ying Chen
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Jun Li: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Lisi Jia: School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Longjian Li: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Zehang Huang: School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Ying Chen: School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-11

Abstract: In this study, a new type of functional hybrid suspension for solar energy conversion and thermal energy storage was prepared by adding carbon nanotube (CNT) and microencapsulated phase-change material (MEPCM) into deionized water. MEPCM with octadecane as the core material and titania (TiO 2 ) as the shell material was synthesized by the sol–gel method. The MEPCMs were spherical particles with diameters of 2–4 μm, and the thickness of the shell was about 100 nm. The MEPCM achieved better thermal stability and thermal conductivity than the pure octadecane due to the TiO 2 shell. The melting and solidification latent heats of the MEPCM were about 154.24 and 154.26 J/g, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency of octadecane was calculated to be 65.84%. Most of all, the novel hybrid CNT and MEPCM suspensions exhibited remarkable dispersion stability owing to the stable reticular structure composed of CNT in the suspension. Compared with pure water, the thermal conductivity, specific heat of the MEPCM/CNT suspension improved by 34.48 and 43.57%, respectively and the photo-thermal conversion efficiency reached a high value of 86.0%. This work provided a new type of hybrid functional suspension towards direct absorption solar collector for solar energy conversion and storage.

Keywords: microencapsulated phase-change material; carbon nanotube; direct absorption solar collector; heat storage; photo-thermal conversion efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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