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Preparation and thermal performance of ternary carbonates/silica microcomposites as phase change materials

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for energy, environment and building applications
  • Published:
Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Microencapsulated phase change material (PCMs) is an effective thermal energy storage medium. In this paper, ternary lithium, sodium, potassium carbonates/silica microcomposites as PCMs were synthesized by a sol-gel coating method. The effects of heat treatment on the performance of the ternary carbonates and the microcomposites were studied. The composition, microstructure, phase change characteristics, and thermal stability of the microcomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results show that different carbonate eutectics were detected with or without heat treatment. The microcomposite with heat-treated ternary carbonates exhibited a latent heat of 192.2 kJ/kg and an encapsulation ratio of 84.8%. The supercooling degree was reduced by 43.7%. No leakage was detected after phase change cycles, indicating good thermal stability of the microcomposite. The results indicate that the microcomposites have great potential in high-temperature thermal energy storage.

Ternary carbonates/silica microcomposites with reduced supercooling were synthesized due to eutectics obtained through heat treatment.

Highlights

  • Microencapsulation of ternary molten salt by sol–gel coating.

  • Different eutectic salts were obtained through heat treatment.

  • Microcomposites with up to 192.2 kJ/kg latent heat were obtained.

  • Supercooling of the microcomposites with heat-treated salts was reduced by 43.7%.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 51976040]. YC acknowledges the support from the Guangdong Special Support Program [grant number 2017TX04N371].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Songping Mo, Bingzhong Mo, Fan Wu, Lisi Jia & Ying Chen

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  1. Songping Mo
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  2. Bingzhong Mo
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  3. Fan Wu
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  4. Lisi Jia
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  5. Ying Chen
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Correspondence to Ying Chen.

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Mo, S., Mo, B., Wu, F. et al. Preparation and thermal performance of ternary carbonates/silica microcomposites as phase change materials. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 99, 220–229 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-021-05563-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-021-05563-5

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