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Organic phase change material in water emulsion: Investigation of thermophysical and energy storage properties
Veerakumar Chinnasamy, Nayoung You and Honghyun Cho

Due to the versatile applicability of phase change material emulsions (PCMEs) in various thermal management applications, researchers focus on developing and investigating new highly efficient PCMEs. In the present research, PCME at different concentrations was prepared using n-Hexadecane as phase change material (PCM) and deionized water as base fluid. Sodium dodecyl sulfate is used to stabilize the PCM in the base fluid. The average PCM droplet size and corresponding zeta potential for PCME at 50 wt% concentration were 166 nm and -49 mV, respectively, whereas the onset melting and freezing points were 289 and 286 K, respectively. The latent heat of PCME was reduced compared to pure PCM. The thermogravimetric results confirm that decomposition occurs above 373 K and slow evaporation may occur at lower temperatures. Also, there is no chemical interaction between the components of the PCME. Therefore, the developed PCME can be an excellent heat accumulation and transportation medium.

Keywords: phase change material, thermal energy storage, emulsion, n-Hexadecane, thermophysical property