Enhancing the Thermal Conductivity of 1-OD/Indium Composite Phase Change Material for Thermal Energy Storage

In this study, the effects of processing temperatures of indium nanoparticles (In NPs) on the thermal conductivity (κ) of an organic phase change material (PCM) were investigated. 1-octadecanol (1-OD) also known as stearyl alcohol, with chemical formula C 18 H 38 O was selected as the organic PCM. Surface of Indium nanoparticles are functionalized with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to promote particles dispersion in 1-OD medium. Experimental analysis showed that for the In NPs/1-OD composite phase change material (CPCM) with a ~12 vol.% (~55 wt.%) of In NPs loading, specific melting latent heat (L m ) of the mixture is 103.1 J/g (~41.5% L m,1-OD ). This value is proportional to weight % loading of 1-OD (~45 wt.%) in the mixture. The κ versus processing temperature graph showed a turning point between 100 °C and 110 °C reaching a κ = 2.56 ± 0.07 W/mk at this processing temperature range. This is ~ 6.74-fold higher than κ of the 1-OD organic PCM matrix at 0.38 ± 0.01 W/mK. This is due to formation of high aspect ratio (length/diameter) conductive network pathways of In NPs in 1-OD organic PCM.