Improved thermal characteristics of Ag nanoparticles dispersed myristic acid as composite for low temperature thermal energy storage

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the thermal properties of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) dispersed myristic acid (MA) phase change material (PCM) as composite for low temperature solar energy storage. The Ag NPs has good enhancement for heat transfer, hence different weight fractions of nanoparticles were dispersed to ascertain the maximum thermal conductivity improvement of MA. Composites were tested to find their phase change property (phase change temperatures and latent heats) during melting and solidification by using differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The variations observed on the phase change property of composites were little. Thermal conductivity of MA improved progressively by the addition of different weight fractions of Ag NPs. From the results, as-prepared composites can be considered to be one of the potential candidates for low temperature heating applications owing to its improved thermal reliability, thermal properties and thermal conductivity.