Graphite-enhanced thermal properties of octadecylamine/graphite foam shape-stable composite phase change materials for thermal energy storage

In this study, octadecylamine/graphite foam composite phase change materials (ODA/GF CPCMs) were prepared by vacuum impregnation; octadecylamine (ODA) was used as the phase change materials (PCMs), and graphite foam (GF) was used as the support material. Polyurethane (PU) foam obtained after hydrolysis in 40 wt% NaOH solution at 80 °C for 30 min was the template for the GF; therefore, the prepared GF has many interpenetrating pore structures, providing many adsorption sites for PCMs. For the ODA/GF-3 CPCMs with 15 wt% graphite addition, the loading of ODA is as high as 92.3%, the thermal stability is excellent, the melting temperature is 52.1 °C, and the latent heat of fusion is 218. 1 J/g, which is 1.1 times that of pure ODA. The thermal conductivity of ODA/GF-3 CPCMs is 0.725 W/m•K, which is 2.2 times that of pure ODA. These results indicate that ODA/GF CPCMs have good thermal properties, and their competitiveness in the field of energy storage is greatly improved due to their excellent performance.