Cotton-derived carbon sponge as support for form-stabilized composite phase change materials with enhanced thermal conductivity

Abstract The practical use of organic phase change materials (PCMs) for solar thermal energy storage is limited by the leakage problem and the low thermal conductivity. As a good supporting and thermal conductive framework for organic PCM with shape-stability, three-dimensional carbon sponges are produced by the direct carbonization of low-cost and sustainable biomass cotton. The carbon sponges are consisted of aerogels of the cotton-derived hollow carbon fibers, which have both interconnecting network and high porosity. The vacuum impregnated paraffin@carbon sponge composites not only present leakage-proof shape stability and enhanced thermal conductivity, but also show high thermal storage energy density (>200 J g-1, slightly lower than the pure paraffin) and good cyclability. The results indicate that the shape-stable PCMs as supported by cotton-derived carbon sponges are potentially to be widely used for thermal energy conversion and storage, especially for solar energy utilization.