Recent developments in polymeric phase change materials for energy storage: poly(ethylene oxide)/stearic acid blends

Abstract

Abstract The thermal behavior of a series of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/stearic acid blends was investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), modulated temperature DSC, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for application as thermal energy storage materials. It has been found that PEO/stearic acid blends are efficient polymer‐based phase change materials that can be applied in the temperature range 55.7–75.2°C with the enthalpy of phase transition values in the range of 202.8–252.3 J/g. The PEO/stearic acid blend (1:3 w/w) exhibits a senergistic effect—its value of enthalpy of melting and crystallization is higher than those of pure components. The origin of this promising effect was investigated by FT‐IR and SEM techniques to ascertain the influence of hydrogen bonds on the sample's supramolecular morphology. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.