Supercooling regulation and thermal property optimization of erythritol as phase change material for thermal energy storage

Erythritol has many advantages such as high latent heat, good stability, non-toxicity and abundance, which are extremely potential in the field of medium-temperature thermal energy storage. However, the application of erythritol in thermal energy storage is greatly restricts by high supercooling. Herein, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMCNa) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) are introduced to regulate the supercooling and thermal properties of erythritol. The crystal growth and nucleation process of erythritol is promoted effectively by CMC-Na and h-BN, as a result, the supercooling degree and solidification stability degree of erythritol is suppressed observably. According the results, while retaining the high latent heat of erythritol, the defect of supercooling of erythritol is effectively improved. The supercooling degree and solidification stability degree of erythritol are suppressed by 93% and 84%, respectively. Furthermore, the high latent heat, good thermal conductivity and excellent cycling thermal stability of erythritol composite phase change materials (ECPCM) are also available. This conclusion is important for supercooling regulation and thermal property optimization of erythritol, and indeed, can promote the utilization of erythritol in medium-temperature thermal energy storage.