Enhanced thermal characteristics of CuO embedded lauric acid phase change material

A new composite Phase change material (PCM) was fabricated by adding 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 wt% CuO nanoparticles (NPs) into lauric acid, separately. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the morphological structures of as-prepared nanoparticles, and XRD analysis was used to characterize their crystalline structure. The phase change properties (phase change temperatures and latent heats) of lauric acid and composite PCMs were obtained using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Using a laser flash analyzer (LFA), the thermal conductivity enhancement of the composite PCMs was evaluated. The thermal reliability analysis was implemented to ascertain the results of the composite PCMs over long periods.