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Flexible cellulose acetate nano-felts absorbed with capric–myristic–stearic acid ternary eutectic mixture as form-stable phase-change materials for thermal energy storage/retrieval

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore an innovative type of form-stable phase-change materials (PCMs) with flexible cellulose acetate (CA) nano-fibrous felts (nano-felts) absorbed with capric–myristic–stearic acid ternary eutectic mixture for thermal energy storage/retrieval. Capric–myristic–stearic acid (CMS) ternary eutectic mixture as model PCM was firstly prepared. The developed CA nano-felts as supporting material was mechanically flexible and was made from CA/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) precursor composite nanofibers followed by removal of PVP components. The effects of original mass ratio of CA/PVP on absorption capacities of CA nano-felts were studied. The modified CA nano-felts with groove/porous structure and rough surfaces were capable of absorbing a large amount of PCMs. The morphological structures, as well as the properties of thermal energy storage, thermal stability and reliability, and thermal insulation of composite PCMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermal performance measurement, respectively. The results showed that CMS eutectic was absorbed in and/or supported by modified CA nano-felts. The heat enthalpy values of composite PCMs have slightly decreased in comparison with the corresponding theoretical values. The composite PCMs demonstrated good thermal stability and reliability after thermal cycles. The composite PCMs had high thermal insulation capability for temperature regulation.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2015T80496), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. JUSRP51621A), Jiangsu Universities “Qing Lan” Project (No. 2016 [15]), National Undergraduate Innovation and Training Program (No. 201610295043) and High-level Innovative and Entrepreneurial Talents in Jiangsu Province (No. 2015 [26]).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Eco-textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China

    Yibing Cai, Xiaofei Song, Mengmeng Liu, Fei Li, Mingsheng Xie, Dinglin Cai & Qufu Wei

  2. College of Textiles and Clothing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China

    Xiaofei Song, Mengmeng Liu, Fei Li, Mingsheng Xie & Dinglin Cai

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  1. Yibing Cai
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  2. Xiaofei Song
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  3. Mengmeng Liu
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  7. Qufu Wei
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Correspondence to Yibing Cai or Qufu Wei.

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Cai, Y., Song, X., Liu, M. et al. Flexible cellulose acetate nano-felts absorbed with capric–myristic–stearic acid ternary eutectic mixture as form-stable phase-change materials for thermal energy storage/retrieval. J Therm Anal Calorim 128, 661–673 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-016-5937-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-016-5937-1

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