A lauric acid-hybridized bentonite composite phase-changing material for thermal energy storage

In this study, a form-stable composite phase-changing material (PCM) was synthesised by a vacuum impregnation method. Natural Na-bentonite and lauric acid (LA) were used as the supporting material and PCM, respectively. In addition, flake graphite (FG) was used for enhancing the thermal conductivity of the form-stable composite PCM, besides for blocking the leakage of the PCM. Notably, with the addition of FG, the period of melting and freezing of the composite PCM decreased to a certain extend. Meanwhile, the heat-transfer characteristic of the composite increased. Moreover, the as-prepared form-stable composite PCM showed good thermal reliability after 200 cycles of thermal-cold treatment and has the potential to be used in thermal energy storage systems.