Preparation and thermal energy storage properties of erythritol/polyaniline form-stable phase change material

Erythritol (ME)/polyaniline (PANI) form-stable phase change materials (PCMs) were prepared in isopropanol via a simple method. ME was dispersed in the solvent to form suspension at first. Form-stable PCMs were then obtained by covering the dispersed ME particles with PANI particles, which in turn were synthesized via surface polymerization of aniline in the solvent. The prepared form-stable PCMs were characterized by various characterization techniques. The results showed that the loading of ME in the form-stable PCM with good formstability could attain 75%, corresponding to a melting enthalpy of about 260 J/g. The supercooling degree of ME in the form-stable PCMs was stably suppressed from 103 degrees C to 60 degrees C, which was resulted from that the PANI presented a lot of nucleation centers and facilitated the heterogeneous nucleation of ME. The solidification enthalpy of the form-stable PCM was improved to 180 J/g, which was 50 J/g higher than that of pristine ME. Accelerated cyclic melting/freezing tests showed that the solidification temperature and the latent heat storage capacity of the prepared form-stable PCMs remained stable over 100 melting/freezing cycles. The form stability of the form-stable PCMs were originated from that the ME particles were covered by a layer of PANI particles, and the PANI particles could adsorb the liquified ME. This work presented a protocol for preparation of polymer-based sugar alcohols form-stable PCMs.