Melamine foam/polyethylene glycol composite phase change material synergistically modified by polydopamine/MXene with enhanced solar-to-thermal conversion

Abstract Phase change materials (PCMs) can effectively absorb and release energy from the environment during the phase transition process. However, liquid phase leakage and poor energy storage occur easily at the same stage. Considering the good adhesion of polydopamine (PDA) and the high solar absorption properties of PDA and MXene, a new supporting material was prepared in this work by combining melamine foam (MF) and MXene under the action of PDA, which was used to encapsulate polyethylene glycol (PEG) to prepare a composite PCM (CPCM). Then, we experimentally studied the thermal properties of this new material. The results show that the proposed PEG/MPMF CPCM (PEG@MPMF) exhibits good heat storage properties, and the melting enthalpy reaches 186.2 J/g, which is 99.5% of that of pure PEG. The light absorption of PEG@MPMF is improved by the conjugate action of PDA and MXene. Additionally, this CPCM maintains excellent shape stability and reusability after 100 thermal cycles. Therefore, the PEG@MPMF shows great advantages in terms of heat storage and thermal management.