Preparation and Texture of Phase Change Materials of Fatty Acid/SiO2 Composite

Abstract

The phase change materials of fatty acid/SiO2 composite were prepared by sol-gel method with SiO2 as carrier material, fatty acid as phase change material, absolute alcohol and deionized water as solvent, Which then were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), laser particle size analyzer (LPSA), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) etc. The effect of the type of cores, the amount of phase change material and absolute alcohol and deionized water as well as the solution pH value and ultrasonic wave power on the texture of the prepared composites were investigated systematically. The results show that the texture of the phase change materials of fatty acid/SiO2 composite was greatly influenced by the type of cores, the amount of phase change material and absolute alcohol and deionized water, and also related to solution pH value and ultrasonic wave power. The optimal processing parameters for preparation a good composite are: decanoic acid-palmitic acid acts as core, the mole ratio of decanoic acid-palmitic acid to tetraethyl orthosilicate is 0.4, the mole ratio of absolute alcohol to tetraethyl orthosilicate is 5, the mole ratio of deionized water to tetraethyl orthosilicate is 9, solution pH value is 4 and ultrasonic wave power is 200 W.