The Application of Modified Multi-Wall Carbon Nano-Tube Particles in PCM as the Nucleating Agent

Abstract:

Paraffin waxes as the phase change materials (PCM) usually tend to become supercooled in their crystallization processes, which limits their applications. As a solution, the modified multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) particles were dispersed in PCM as the nucleating agent to effectively reduce the super cooling, oxidized by strong acids H₂SO₄ and HNO₃ to increase the compatibility with the organic liquid. In this study, the n-hexadecane-1-decanol slurry with modified MWCNT in different concentration was prepared and analyzed. Thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) indicated that the super cooling of PCM was significantly decreased. The effective ranges of nucleating agent concentration were summarized which provided a promising way of improving the performance of system energy efficiency in building cooling and heating applications.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 328)
• Pages: 753-757
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.328.753
• Online since: June 2013
• Authors: Xi Yao Zhang, Jian Lei Niu, Jian Yong Wu, Shuo Zhang
• Keywords: Hexadecane, MWCNT, Nucleating Agent, PCM, Super Cooling

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