Form-stable paraffin/graphene aerogel/copper foam composite phase change material for solar energy conversion and storage

Abstract Sustainable utilization of solar energy with a more compact solar heating system is a significant research. In this study, a novel form-stable composite phase change material (PCM) was prepared for application in solar energy conversion and storage. Paraffin as PCM was encapsulated in the matrix consist of copper foam (CF) loaded with graphene aerogel (GA) in order to improve thermal conductivity, prevent leakage and convert solar energy to thermal energy. The melting temperature and the latent heat of the composite PCMs were determined to estimate thermal storage performance. The thermal conductivities of composite PCMs measured by transient plane heat source method were more than 9 times higher than that of paraffin. Besides, the composite PCMs showed uniform temperature distribution and perfect shape-stabilization when heated. Furthermore, the composite PCMs exhibited an excellent light-to-thermal energy conversion efficiency (up to 97%) in the experiment of light-to-thermal energy conversion, which demonstrated the potential of the composite PCM for solar energy conversion and storage.