Preparation and characterization of polyethylene glycol/ethyl cellulose composite phase change thermal energy storage material

This paper deals with the preparation,characterization,and determination thermal energy storage properties of polyethylene glycol/ethyl cellulose(PEG/EC)composite as solid-solid composite phase change materials(PCMs).The composite PCMs were prepared by blending PEG and EC in the light of the organic phase separation method.And the maximum mass fraction of PEG in the composite was 84.6%.The composite PCMs were characterized by FT-IR,SEM,DSC and TG analysis techniques to study the morphology,compatibility,structure and thermal properties of PEG/EC composites respectively.The results show that PEG/EC composite PCMs were irregular granules which have good compatibility not due to new chemical bond but hydrogen bond formed between PEG and EC molecules.PEG/EC composite was changed into network structure and PEG loses its mobility when temperature was higher than its melting point on account of hydrogen bond and winding among PEG and EC molecules,etc.So the composites turn into solid-solid PCMs,which have good thermal stability when phase change occurs under 80℃,and maximum enthalpy may reach 151.8J/g.