Preparation and characterization of a novel form-stable phase change material for thermal energy storage

A series of novel polymeric form-stable phase change materials (FSPCMs) composed of poly(trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate-stearyl methacrylate) (PTS) and stearic acid were synthesized via solvent-free bulk polymerization. Stearic acid was used as phase change component, and PTS acted as supporting material. The chemical structure, crystalline properties, phase change ability, thermal reliability, and stability were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), accelerated thermal cycling testing, and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), respectively. The DSC results revealed that the maximum freezing and melting latent heat can reach 143.5 and 146.7 J g −1 . The POM and XRD results proved the existence of spherocrystal. Accelerating thermal test and TG demonstrated that FSPCMs had good reliability and stability in practical application. The prepared form-stable phase change materials with high enthalpy and proper phase change temperature have a promising prospect in thermal energy storage.