MXene-based eutectic salt hydrate phase change material for efficient thermal features, corrosion resistance & photo-thermal energy conversion

Salt hydrate phase change materials (PCMs) possess low thermal conductivity, degree of supercooling, lack of corrosion resistance and poor photo thermal conversion ability. To overcome these challenges, a two dimensional, chemically stable, optically & thermally efficient MXene@eutectic salt hydrate composite PCM is developed for effective harnessing of solar energy and thermal energy storage (TES) applications. Low temperature eutectic salt hydrate PCM with phase transition temperature of 27.6 °C and 216 J/g melting enthalpy is developed using sodium sulphate decahydrate (SSD) and sodium phosphate dibasic dodecahydrate (SPDD) based on Schrader equation. Advanced 2D layered material, MXene (Ti3C2) is synthesised from MAX phase (Ti3AlC2). Furthermore, MXene based PCM nanocomposite is developed with binary eutectic PCM of SSD/SPDD at different weight fractions through two step technique. Developed nanocomposite PCM exhibits better chemical stability, high optical absorbance of (1.1), low transmissibility (10.2 %), reliable thermal conductivity (0.621 W/m⋅K), improved melting enthalpy (161.2 J/g) and considerable cycle stability. The optical absorbance and thermal conductivity demonstrated a superior photo-thermal conversion capability and thermal networks for the developed MXene based composite sample at 0.9 wt% of MXene. The above properties are experimentally inferred by evaluating the developed MXene@ eutectic salt hydrate and base eutectic PCM under the solar simulator. The interfacial attraction between the two dimensional MXene nano flakes and the developed eutectic PCM ensures a promising ability to trap solar energy effectively for thermal regulation in a sustainable direction. Subsequently, the effect of MXene with SSD/SPDD in regard to the issue of corrosion is explored for copper and aluminium metal surface.