Graphene oxide Pickering phase change material emulsions with high thermal conductivity and photo-thermal performance for thermal energy management

Abstract

In this study, novel graphene oxide Pickering phase change material emulsions (GO Pickering PCMEs) containing 10 wt% of paraffin were prepared. GO was utilized as a Pickering stabilizer. The formation of GO Pickering PCMEs was successfully clarified via designing a contrast experiment. The effects of different GO concentrations on the morphology, rheological behavior, stability, thermal conductivity and thermo-physical properties of GO Pickering PCMEs are explored. The result shows that the optimal GO concentration is 0.2 wt%. In addition, the thermal conductivity of GO Pickering PCMEs with 0.2 wt% GO is 0.645 W m−1 K−1, reaching an increased percentage as high as 109.42% in comparison with that without GO. The addition of GO improves the efficiency of photo-thermal conversion performance of GO Pickering PCMEs. Owing to the high thermal conductivity and photo-thermal conversion performance of GO Pickering PCMEs, it can be expected that GO Pickering PCMEs possess great potential for heat transfer fluids and thermal energy storage media.