Composite phase change materials based on CuS-coated carbonized melamine foam/reduced graphene oxide frameworks for multiple energy conversion and storage applications

The single function and leakage of organic phase change materials (OPCMs) used alone considerably limit the scope of their large-scale applications. An efficient method of addressing this issue is by adding functional fillers and porous scaffolds to OPCMs. In this study, a novel CuS-coated carbonized melamine foam (CMF)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) framework (CMF/rGO/CuS) was developed for the preparation of stable multifunctional OPCMs. The functional materials rGO and CuS were used as reinforcing materials, and CMF was used as a supporting material. Paraffin wax (PW), a thermal storage substance, was encapsulated in the CMF/rGO/CuS framework by vacuum-assisted impregnation to obtain a PW@CMF/rGO/CuS composite with excellent comprehensive properties. When the concentration of the conductive filler CuS was 2.0 wt%, the conductivity of the PW@CMF/rGO/CuS 2.0was 73.7 % more than that of pure PW, and its photothermal conversion efficiency exceeded 90 %. Meanwhile, CMF/rGO/CuS endowed the composite with a thermal conductivity of 0.2525 W m −1  K −1 , which was 33.6 % higher than that of pure PW. Finally, PW@CMF/rGO/CuS demonstrated high thermal cycling and thermal cycling stability with good application prospects in various fields.