Reduced graphene oxide modified melamine sponges filling with paraffin for efficient solar-thermal conversion and heat management

A novel type of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) modified melamine sponges (rGS) filling with paraffin (rGS-pf) is developed for efficient solar-thermal conversion and heat management. The microstructures, filling and holding capacity of paraffin in porous rGS, solar-thermal energy conversion and energy harvesting efficiency of the prepared rGS-pf have been investigated systematically. The content of rGO nanosheets coated on the skeletons of rGS-pf is only 0.11%, while the loading content of paraffin in the rGS-pf is as high as 97.53%. Based on the solar-thermal conversion property of rGO nanosheets in the rGS-pf and the heat storage ability of paraffin in the rGS-pf, the proposed rGS-pf provides excellent performance for heat management. The efficiency of solar-thermal conversion could reach up to 92.5%. The thermo-regulation provided by the proposed rGS-pf is real-time, repeatable and long-term stable. The results in this study provide valuable guidance for developing functional materials for efficient solar-thermal conversion and heat management.