Study on polyethylene glycol/epoxy resin composite as a form-stable phase change material

Form-stable polyethylene glycol (PEG)/epoxy resin (EP) composite as a novel phase change material (PCM) was prepared using casting molding method. In this new material, PEG acts as the latent heat storage material and EP polymer serves as the supporting material, which provides structural strength and prevents the leakage of the melted PEG. The structure and morphology of the novel composite were observed using Fourier transformation infrared spectroscope (FTIR) and scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The thermo-mechanical property and transition behavior were characterized by polarizing optical microscope (POM). static thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The experimental results show that, as a result of the physical tangled function of the epoxy resin carrier to the PEG segment, the composite macroscopically presents the solid-solid phase change characteristic. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.