Synthesis and characteristics of form-stable n-octadecane/expanded graphite composite phase change materials

N-octadecane/expanded graphite composite phase-change materials were prepared by absorbing liquid n-octadecane into the expanded graphite. The n-octadecane was used as the phase-change material for thermal energy storage, and the expanded graphite acted as the supporting material. Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal diffusivity measurement were used to determine the chemical structure, crystalline phase, microstructure and thermal diffusivity of the composite phase-change materials, respectively. The thermal properties and thermal stability were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The DSC results indicated that the composite phase-change materials exhibited the same phase-transition characteristics as the n-octadecane and their latent heat increased with the n-octadecane content in composite phase-change materials. The SEM results showed that the n-octadecane was well absorbed in the porous network of the expanded graphite, and there was no leakage of the n-octadecane from the composites even when it was in the molten state.