Form-stable phase change nanocomposites for thermal energy storage based on hypercrosslinked polymer nanospheres

Two kinds of hypercrosslinked polymer nanospheres (HCPNs), which were synthesized via Friedel-Crafts and Scholl coupling reactions, were used as porous matrix to prepare form-stable phase change materials nanocomposites (HCPNs-PCMs). Owing to the large BET surface area and the strong hydrophobicity of HCPNs, PCMs (palmitic acid and 1-octadecanol) can be absorbed spontaneously into HCPNs. The properties of HCPNs-PCMs have been characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The DSC results showed that the HCPNs-PCMs had latent heats of 111.8−134.9 J g −1 . The mass fraction of PCMs in HCPNs-PCMs ranged from 71.4 wt% to 74.5 wt%. After 300 melting and freezing cycles, the nanocomposites maintained their phase transition properties perfectly, indicating excellent recyclability and high thermal stability.