Highly Resilient Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose/Tuff Aerogel-Based Composite Phase Change Materials for Efficient Thermal Management

In order to cope with the evolving energy crisis and improve the efficient utilization of resources, the preparation of composite phase change materials (CPCMs) with good shape stability, enhanced thermal conductivity, and reasonable mechanical properties for effective energy storage and conversion using a simple process is a crucial issue. In this work, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/tuff (CMC/Tuff) aerogels with different tuff contents were fabricated by the sol–gel method and directional freeze-drying technique. The porous CMC/tuff aerogels (CTAs) had a uniform lamellar structure, which enabled them to exhibit a good resilience response under loading and a compressive strength of up to 78.2 kPa at 50% strain when the tuff particle loading was 50 wt %. Meanwhile, the thermal conductivity of the CMC/50Tuff/PEG (CTAP50) CPCM was raised to 0.95 W/m·K, which was enhanced by 215% compared to pure PEG. Particularly, the compressible CTA facilitates the storage of PEG with a maximum infiltration rate of 98.01% and an enthalpy of phase transition of 170.27 J/g for the CTA50, which results in an enthalpy efficiency as high as 97.3%. The resilience and large adsorption capacity of the CTA framework improve the shape stability and thermal reliability during the phase transition process. In addition, CTAP50 CPCM can also be used to cool the surface temperature of the analog central processing unit (CPU) from 90 to 52 °C. In summary, the as-prepared CTAP50 CPCM provides a strategy for thermal management of next-generation electronic devices.