Ti(3)C(2)Tx@Polyvinyl alcohol foam-Supported Phase Change Materials with Simultaneous Enhanced Thermal Conductivity and Solar-Thermal Conversion Performance

The phase change materials (PCMs) are attractive and environmental-friendly way to improve the utilization rate in the field of photothermal conversion and solar radiation storage. However, the low photothermal conversion efficiency and low thermal conductivity characteristics of PCMs limit their practical applications. In order to improve the performance of these materials, we developed a novel polyethylene glycol (PEG 2000) PCMs composites supported by Ti(3)C(2)Tx@polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) foam skeleton with several advantages like low-cost, scalable and simple preparation method by freeze-drying after PEG being introduced into the skeleton via vacuum impregnation. The thermal conductivity of Ti(3)C(2)Tx@/PEG composite containing 7.68 wt% skeleton was notably high as 0.428 W/(m center dot K),which was 4.2 times higher than PEG 2000 (0.101 W/(m center dot K)). The improvement of thermal conductivity was mainly derived from the three-dimensional interconnected structures of the foamy skeleton. The actual phase change enthalpy of composite searched up to 131.1 J/g, and its photothermal con-version efficiency achieved 96.5%, demonstrating excellent photothermal conversion and storage ability. Furthermore, the Ti(3)C(2)Tx@/PEG composite exhibited structural stable property that avoids leakage of liquefied PCM during melting process. This multifunctional Ti(3)C(2)Tx@@PVA/PEG PCM provided a prospective application in thermal energy management systems regarding its high thermal conductivity, excellent photothermal conversion efficiency, thermal energy storage (TES) capability and structural stability.

Automated summary

The introduction of polyethylene glycol into the Ti(3)C(2)Tx@PVA foam skeleton significantly improved the thermal conductivity of phase change materials, resulting in enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency and storage capability.