Solid–solid phase‐change materials based on hyperbranched polyurethane for thermal energy storage

ABSTRACT A hyperbranched polyol (HBP) was synthesized with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as the core molecule and 2,2‐bis(hydroxymethyl) propionic acid as the chain extender. Then, a series of hyperbranched polyurethane phase‐change materials (HP‐PCMs) with different crosslinking densities was synthesized with isophorone diisocyanate and HBP as a molecular skeleton and PEG 6000 as a phase‐change ingredient. 1 H‐NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful synthesis of the HBP and HP‐PCMs. The polarization optical microscopy and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction results show that the HP‐PCM exhibited good crystallization properties, but the crystallinity was lower than that of PEG 6000. The analysis results from differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the HP‐PCMs were typical solid–solid phase‐change materials with suitable phase‐transition temperatures. In addition, HP‐PCM‐3, with an appropriate degree of hyperbranched structure, possessed the highest thermal transition enthalpy of 123.5 J/g. Moreover, thermal cycling testing and thermogravimetric analysis showed that the HP‐PCMs exhibited good thermal reliability and stability. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45014.