Fabrication of form-stable phase change material with enhanced thermal performance based on the cocrystal of comb-like polymer and paraffin

The comb-like polymers with crystalline aliphatic side chains are synthesized and then applied as the supporting material of phase change material. First, poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) n -graft-octadecylamine (P(S-AA) n -C18, wherein “ n ” denoted AA feed ratio) is prepared. The crystalline behaviors of the comb-like polymer with different grafting densities are investigated. Then the paraffin@P(S-AA) n -C18 is obtained by packing paraffin into P(S-AA) n -C18. Attributed to the cocrystallization with paraffin, a form-stable phase change material (FSPCM) with high content of paraffin (≥90 wt% paraffin in FSPCMs without obvious leakage) and enhanced thermal property is obtained. The melting and freezing enthalpies of FSPCMs reach 124.4 and 126.3 J/g, respectively, which are higher than that of pure paraffin. And good thermal cycling stability and good thermal stability of FSPCMs are also exhibited. The result offers an avenue for developing the high-efficient thermal energy storage materials.