A modified kapok fiber based phase change composite for highly-efficient solar-thermal conversion

Phase change material (PCM) has attracted considerable attention as thermal energy management technology for thermal storage . However, the low thermal conductivity and poor solar-thermal conversion performance severely limit their further practical applications. Herein, we successfully design a novel form-stable polyethylene glycol (PEG)-kapok fiber (KF)@Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets phase change composite with favorable thermal conductivity (0.630 W/mK) and outstanding solar-thermal conversion efficiency (98.49%). The Ti 3 C 2 T x on KF could offer more thermally conductive channels, thus greatly improve the thermal conductivity of PEG PCM. The strong solar absorption of Ti 3 C 2 T x and the black surface of the composite conjointly resulted in the highly efficient solar-thermal conversion procedure. When the as-prepared composite exposed to sunlight, the surface temperature could reach over 90 °C in just 10 min. This work could not only exhibit the great potential of PEG-KF@Ti 3 C 2 T x in thermal energy management, but also provide a new and efficient way for high solar-thermal conversion.