Unlocking the Potential of Polydopamine-Mediated Hybrid MXene and hBN 2D Nanosheets for Improved Thermal Energy Storage and Management

One challenge in phase change materials (PCM) is boosting thermal conductivity without compromising latent heat, which is essential for storing thermal energy via phase changes, such as melting and solidification. This study focuses on developing a hybrid nanoenhanced plant-based paraffin wax, by incorporating surface-modified hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and MXene. Here, polydopamine (PDA) served as a surface and chemical modifier to enhance the compatibility and long-term stability of MXene and hBN nanosheets within the NE-PCM, which are characterized through FTIR, XPS, XRD, and TEM. The surface modification enabled the nanosheets to disperse uniformly in the PCM without needing a surfactant, and they remained stable even after 1 h of centrifugation. The results indicate that the addition of 1% of PDA@hBN/MXene to PCM led to enhancements in all thermo-physical properties, including a 25.5% increase in the latent heat of melting, a 79% increase (at 15 °C) and a 59% increase (at 40 °C) in thermal conductivity, and a 32.5% increase (in the liquid state) and a 17.8% increase (in the solid state) in specific heat capacity. These findings underscore the significant advantages of hybrid NE-PCM in enhancing the performance of thermal energy management applications such as building energy management with pipe-encapsulated methods.