In-situ copper ion reduction and micro encapsulation of wood-based composite PCM with effective anisotropic thermal conductivity and energy storage

This work develops metallic wood-based phase change materials (MWPCM) with high-performance anisotropic thermal conductivity by impregnating wood with phase change microcapsules and subsequent in situ chemical deposition of copper inside the wood cell lumen. Phase change material (PCM) is encapsulated by polymer to form phase change microcapsules, which solve the leakage problem effectively. Benefited with the well-aligned and hierarchical porous structure of wood, phase change microcapsules coated with copper layer are orderly confined inside wood vessels and fibers, developing a continuous and anisotropic heat transfer network along the highly oriented transport tissues of wood. The morphology, chemical structure and crystallization of microcapsules and MWPCM are investigated using scanning electronic microscope (SEM), flourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and the thermal storage capacity, thermal stability and thermal conductivity of the developed PCM composites are examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and laser flash diffusivity apparatus (LFA) respectively. The results show that PCM capsules were effectively accommodated in orderly porous wood as a carrier; the radial and longitudinal thermal conductivity of MWPCM reached 0.37 W/(m*K) and 0.53 W/(m*K), which increased by 362% and 211% compared to pure wood, respectively. The anisotropic thermal conductivity of MWPCM enabled an efficient heat transfer along the longitudinal direction and reduced the heat loss in the transverse direction. MWPCM exhibited good thermal energy storage capacity (92.9 J/g and 94.6 J/g) and suitable phase change temperature (11.4 °C and 29.4 °C) for indoor thermal energy management. MWPCM also displayed outstanding shape-stability, excellent thermal stability and temperature regulation, which has a great potential for building energy collecting, storage and management.