Synthesis and characterization of composite phase change material (CPCM) with SiO2 and diatomite as endothermal-hygroscopic material

This paper prepared a kind of CPCM/diatomite composite as hygroscopic phase change material. The SiO2 of the CPCM was prepared with tetraethyl orthosilicate with sol-gel method, and a kind of alkane mixture was used as phase change material (PCM). The diatomite was used as hygroscopic material. We used scanning electronic microscope (SEM) to determine the microstructure of the composites. The heat absorbing/solidifying properties and thermal stability of the composites were measured with the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA). The hygroscopic properties were also investigated. The measurement results indicated that the composites had good thermal control and hygroscopic properties. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.