Direct growth of graphene on MgO by chemical vapor deposition for thermal conductivity enhancement of phase change material

Increased interconnection between carbon nanofiller and ceramic support can give enhanced thermal conduction of a phase change material in thermal energy storage application. In the present work, we demonstrate a new strategy by directly growing the carbon nanofiller (i.e. graphene) on the surface of MgO ceramic via a chemical vapor deposition method forming a direct contact between them. This is realized by depositing a small amount of metal nanoparticles that catalyzes the growth of this carbon nanostructure on the surface of MgO. The successful synthesis of graphene was investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The thermal conductivity tests were performed using a transient plane source thermal characterization technique. We show that the material prepared by this method gives better heat conduction as compared to the individual mixing of these components.