Preparation and properties of phase-change materials with enhanced radial thermal conductivities based on anisotropic graphene aerogels

In this study, anisotropic graphene aerogels are prepared using the heat-flow method. Then, graphene aerogels with nanosilver particles are prepared via a silver mirror reaction. The aerogels are soaked in paraffin wax and the effects on the properties of the wax are investigated. The thermal conductivity of pure paraffin wax is 0.2553 W m-1 K-1. For the prepared PCM, the aerogel content was 0.92 vol%; this increases to 1.2234 W m-1 K-1, which corresponds to a thermal conductivity enhancement efficiency of 582%. The axial thermal conductivity is 1.4953 W m-1 K-1, which corresponds to a thermal conductivity enhancement efficiency of 746%. The graphene aerogels with the nanosilver particles show high phase-change efficiency. Owing to the significant improvements in the axial and thermal conductivities, the radial and axial heat transfer properties show good consistency suitable for practical applications. In this study, anisotropic graphene aerogels are prepared using the heat-flow method.