Preparation and performance analysis of polyethylene glycol/epoxy resin composite phase change material

Abstract

It is crucial for their widespread application to develop phase change materials (PCMs) that can be mass-produced and possess high thermal storage capacity and stability. This study uses polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the phase change material and epoxy resin as the matrix to prepare polyethylene glycol/epoxy resin composite phase change materials (EPPCM) by blending and analyzing the effects of PEG's molecular weight and content on EPPCM's performance. The results indicate that PEG and epoxy resin are physically blended without chemical reaction. When the molecular weight of PEG is fixed, the larger the content of PEG, the higher the crystallinity, phase change enthalpy value, and phase change temperature of EPPCM, and the weaker the thermal cyclic stability and mechanical properties. When the content of PEG is fixed, the larger the molecular weight of PEG, the higher the crystallinity, phase change enthalpy value, and phase change temperature of EPPCM, the stronger the thermal cyclic stability, and the weaker the mechanical properties. Using PEG-10000 as the PCM with a PEG to epoxy resin ratio of 1:2.5, the EPPCM shows a phase change exothermic temperature range of 33.4 °C to 45.7 °C, an endothermic temperature range of 54.3 °C to 65.4 °C, a phase change enthalpy of 130.0 J/g, and only 1.56 % mass loss after 30 phase change cycles.