1. Academic Validation
  2. Use of cellulose nanofibril (CNF)/silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) composite in salt hydrate phase change material for efficient thermal energy storage

Use of cellulose nanofibril (CNF)/silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) composite in salt hydrate phase change material for efficient thermal energy storage

  • Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Mar 31:174:402-412. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.01.183.
Zhenghui Shen 1 Kyudeok Oh 2 Soojin Kwon 3 Martti Toivakka 4 Hak Lae Lee 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Program in Environmental Materials Science, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Bioresources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
  • 2 Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Laboratory of Natural Materials Technology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku 20500, Finland.
  • 3 Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States.
  • 4 Laboratory of Natural Materials Technology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku 20500, Finland.
  • 5 Program in Environmental Materials Science, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Bioresources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan 250353, China. Electronic address: lhakl@snu.ac.kr.
Abstract

Salt hydrate phase change Materials (PCMs) possess the challenge of supercooling, which must be addressed to allow more efficient energy storage and utilisation. In this work, cellulose nanofibril (CNF), a versatile biopolymer was used to support and disperse silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and the synthesised CNF/AgNPs composite was used to improve the performance of sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT). Results showed that CNF dispersed the AgNPs uniformly and prevented their aggregation. Through the synergistic effect of 1% CNF/AgNPs and 2% sodium phosphate dibasic dodecahydrate, a low supercooling degree of 1.2 °C was achieved. Moreover, AgNPs were uniformly distributed in the prepared PCM composite. Differential scanning calorimetry results indicated that the prepared PCM@CNF/AgNPs 0.02 composite showed a similar melting point (57.4 °C) and enthalpy (269 kJ/kg), compared to those of pure SAT. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the PCM composite did not lose all Moisture until a heating temperature of 160 °C, showing improved thermal stability. The thermal conductivity of PCM@CNF/AgNPs 0.02 composite was 31.6% higher than that of SAT. The enthalpy of this composite decreased only around 2% after 100 melting/freezing cycles, showing satisfying thermal reliability. This composite can therefore be used to fabricate high-performance TES systems with negligible supercooling and improved thermal properties.

Keywords

CNF/AgNPs composite; Salt hydrate phase change material; Supercooling suppression.

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