WOOD/PCM composite with enhanced energy storage density and anisotropic thermal conductivity

Phase change materials (PCMs) have great potential in energy-saving and environmental field due to their high latent heat. The deficiencies that restrict the application of PCMs are their poor thermal conductivity and liquid leakage after phase change. To shoot these problems, a thermally-induced flexible WOOD/PCM composite with enhanced energy storage density and anisotropic thermal conductivity has been proposed. This composite consisted of polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000), delignified balsa wood and boron nitride (BN). The results revealed that the melting enthalpy and freezing enthalpy of WOOD/PEG6000 composite were 209.3 J/g and 214.9 J/g, which had an augment of about 8% comparing with pure PEG6000. After adding 33 wt% BN to the composite, its thermal conductivity in the out-of-plane direction reached 0.96 W/(m center dot K), while the radial thermal conductivity was 0.36 W/(m center dot K). The controllable anisotropic thermal conductivity implies a good application in the environment where forced unidirectional heat dissipation is needed. Furthermore, the composite also shows excellent thermal induced flexibility, such as bending and compression, which is significant in reducing thermal contact resistance with substrates in application. This work indicates that the prepared PCM composite has a great potential application in thermal energy storage and thermal management.