Recent progress on the morphology and thermal cycle of phase change materials (PCMs)/conductive filler composites: a mini review

Andiswa Kaleni, Kgomotso Lebelo, Mokgaotsa Jonas Mochane, Teboho Clement Mokhena, Mary Tholwana Motloung
2022 Journal of polymer engineering  
The current society is experiencing serious problems in terms of energy and environmental pollution. Environmentally friendly and renewable sources such as phase change materials have been employed as a reliable and effective source of energy storage. Phase change materials (PCMs) are known to absorb or release sizeable amount of energy during melting and solidification process. PCMs have been employed in both thermal protection and energy storage systems, more in active as well as passive
more » ... ng applications. However, PCMs are associated with low thermal conductivity, which hinders the process of heat rate exchange during the melting/solidification cycles. To improve the thermal conductivity of PCMs, various conductive fillers have been incorporated to such systems. Thermal cycle test is done to verify the stability of PCMs in thermal energy storage systems. This review emphasizes on the morphology, preparation methods and thermal cycle of various types of PCMs in the presence of conductive filler. Furthermore, the bibliometric analysis based on key research areas, top ten leading countries, and citations by country on phase change materials for energy storage research are reported in this review paper. The bibliometric analysis shows the dominance of the People's Republic of China on PCMs for energy storage research.
doi:10.1515/polyeng-2022-0020 fatcat:uwhnhfz4wjcj7hqsrxhdlrauiq