The preparation of a suspension of microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) and thermal conductivity enhanced by MXene for thermal energy storage

A suspension of microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) and thermal conductivity enhanced by MXene for thermal energy storage was prepared. The dispersion stability of MPCM-suspensions and MPCM-suspensions/MXene was investigated. The phase change behaviors of MPCM-suspensions and MPCM-suspensions/MXene were measured. The thermal conductivity and viscosity of MPCM-suspensions and MPCM-suspensions/MXene at various temperatures from 20 °C to 60 °C were tested. The thermal performance of MPCM-suspensions and MPCM-suspensions/MXene was evaluated by the temperature detection system. Results manifest that the mass ratio of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to water of 42:58 can be used to prepare the MPCM-suspension with good dispersion stability and the MPCM-suspension containing MXene within 0.5 wt% can maintain the good dispersion stability. The latent heat of suspensions increases with the increase of MPCM and MXene has little effect on the latent heat of MPCM-suspensions. The thermal conductivity of suspensions decreases gradually and the viscosity increases dramatically with the increase of MPCM. MXene can significantly enhance the thermal conductivity of MPCM-suspensions and MXene within 0.3 wt% can decrease the viscosity of MPCM-suspensions. The temperature of the heated suspensions decreases gradually with the increase of MPCM. MXene can effectively increase the temperature of the heated MPCM-suspensions at early stage. The prepared MPCM-suspension/MXene has good dispersion stability and low viscosity, high thermal conductivity and latent heat, and can be applied as an efficient functional thermal fluid for thermal energy storage.