Study on preparation and properties of capric acid-lauric acid/expanded graphite phase change materials

Capric acid-lauric acid/expanded graphite shape-stabilized phase change materials(CA-LA/EG) were prepared by using the eutectic mixture of capric acid(CA) and lauric acid(LA) as phase change material,porous expanded graphite(EG) of high adsorption characteristics as supporting matrix.The structure and properties of the materials were studied by ESEM,DSC and the test of melting and solidification process.The results show that the capric acid-lauric acid is well sealed into the inner pore of porous graphite,the mass fraction of the eutectic mixture in CA-LA/EG is found to be 80.47%,phase change temperature and latent heat of CA-LA/EG is 19.50℃ and 93.18J/g respectively,and the thermal conductivity of the shape-stabilized phase change materials is enhanced to a certain extent as compared with that of capric acid-lauric acid.