Abstract. In our previous study, the addition of Magnetite (Fe3O4) into Stearic acid (Sa) as an organic phase change material (PCM) shows an enhancement in the latent heat for thermal energy storage applications. The latent heat of the PCM can also be increased by adding graphene material. Therefore, in this research, the thermal properties of Sa have been studied by the sonication method for several different concentrations of Fe3O4/Graphene nanocomposite additions. The structural properties of all of the samples were observed by X-Ray diffraction (XRD). Melting-solidifying behavior and specific heat value were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermal degradation process of all samples was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Based on the DSC results, the presence of Fe3O4/Graphene in the Sa enhances the latent heat up to 20%. The specific heat value of the mixture was also found to be increased as the concentration of Fe3O4/Graphene to Sa increased. The TGA results show a lowered thermal degradation process of the Sa by the addition of the Fe3O4/Graphene which indicates a higher thermal stability of the mixture. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that the addition of Fe3O4/Graphene to Sa improves both the sensible heat and the latent heat of the mixture which are very important for thermal energy storage applications
In this paper, a series of magnetic Stearic acid (Sa)/Fe3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites were synthesized as a functional phase change materials through a two step methods; sol gel method followed by dispersion technique. Fe3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites were first synthesized by varying the molar ratio of Fe3O4:TiO2 from 1:1 to 1:5 followed by dispersing the synthesized Fe3O4/TiO2 nanocomposites in stearic acid (Sa). The structural properties were confirmed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), while their chemical compositions were determined from energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The molecular interaction were detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Thermal storage capability such as latent heat and specific heat were detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) while high thermal reliability of their phase change performance were detected by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experiment. The result shows that the incorporation of nanocomposites Fe3O4/TiO2 enhance the latent heat as well as heat capacity of phase change materials.
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