Silica fume/capric acid-palmitic acid composite phase change material doped with CNTs for thermal energy storage

In this study, capric acid(CA)-palmitic acid(PA) eutectic mixture was impregnated by silica fume (SF) and also doped with CNTs to improve its thermal conductivity and prevent leaching during phase change. The fabricated shape stabilized-composite PCMs (SS-CPCMs) with/without CNTs were characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, DSC and TG analysis techniques. The DSC results showed that the SS-CPCMs had suitable phase change temperatures of 19-26 °C, with high latent heat capacity of 46-49 J/g, which is suitable for building applications. Moreover, the CNTs doping process caused an appreciable increase in thermal conductivity and significantly reduced the charging and discharging times of the SS-CPCMs.270