Fabrication of Biobased Advanced Phase Change Material and Multifunctional Composites for Efficient Thermal Management

Abstract

In this study, an advanced phase change material (PCM) was fabricated to combine the properties of a biobased thermoplastic polymer and the heat storage of PCM to overcome the limitations of the existing PCM composites. The novel PCM of erythritol (ET)-grafted polylactic acid (PLA) (ETPLA) was prepared by the in situ polymerization of ET and PLA. The thermally conductive ETPLA composites were fabricated by injection molding using a hybrid filler system of oxidized carbon fiber (CF-OH) and aluminum nitride (AlN), which showed a high through-plane thermal conductivity of 4.25 W/mK, a tensile strength of 16.4 MPa (1953% enhancement comparing pure ET), an elongation at break of 4.4% (189% enhancement comparing pure ET), and latent heat of 170.7 J/g. Thus, the ETPLA/CF-OH/AlN composites facilitate efficient thermal management to combine heat saving and heat dissipation through the large latent heat and high thermal conductivity. Thus, the fabricated PCM composites have potential applications in thermal management systems of next-generation electronic devices.