Use of cellulose nanofibril (CNF)/silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) composite in salt hydrate phase change material for efficient thermal energy storage

  • Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Mar 31:174:402-412. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.01.183.
Zhenghui Shen  1 ,  Kyudeok Oh  2 ,  Soojin Kwon  3 ,  Martti Toivakka  4 ,  Hak Lae Lee  5
Affiliations
  • 1. Program in Environmental Materials Science, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Bioresources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
  • 2. Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Laboratory of Natural Materials Technology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku 20500, Finland.
  • 3. Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States.
  • 4. Laboratory of Natural Materials Technology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku 20500, Finland.
  • 5. Program in Environmental Materials Science, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Bioresources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan 250353, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 33529630 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.01.183
Abstract

Salt hydrate phase change Materials (PCMs) possess the challenge of supercooling, which must be addressed to allow more efficient energy storage and utilisation. In this work, cellulose nanofibril (CNF), a versatile biopolymer was used to support and disperse silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and the synthesised CNF/AgNPs composite was used to improve the performance of sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT). Results showed that CNF dispersed the AgNPs uniformly and prevented their aggregation. Through the synergistic effect of 1% CNF/AgNPs and 2% sodium phosphate dibasic dodecahydrate, a low supercooling degree of 1.2 °C was achieved. Moreover, AgNPs were uniformly distributed in the prepared PCM composite. Differential scanning calorimetry results indicated that the prepared PCM@CNF/AgNPs 0.02 composite showed a similar melting point (57.4 °C) and enthalpy (269 kJ/kg), compared to those of pure SAT. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the PCM composite did not lose all Moisture until a heating temperature of 160 °C, showing improved thermal stability. The thermal conductivity of PCM@CNF/AgNPs 0.02 composite was 31.6% higher than that of SAT. The enthalpy of this composite decreased only around 2% after 100 melting/freezing cycles, showing satisfying thermal reliability. This composite can therefore be used to fabricate high-performance TES systems with negligible supercooling and improved thermal properties.

Keywords
CNF/AgNPs composite; Salt hydrate phase change material; Supercooling suppression.
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