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Design and Synthesis of Reliable Paraffin/Epoxy Phase Change Materials With Excellent Shape Stability and Working Durability for Thermal Energy Regulation

April 2025
142(26)

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The preparation of phase change materials (PCMs) with excellent heat storage capacity, shape stability, and working durability is of vital importance for their popularization and application. In this work, a series of form‐stable PCMs was prepared via blending diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), aliphatic anhydride with octadecyl side chains (MNAO), and paraffin together followed by thermal curing. Thanks to the plasticizing effect and self‐assembly of paraffin, the crystalline behavior of paraffin and MNAO was hardly limited by the epoxy network, and the latent heat of EP/Pa‐50 with 50 wt% paraffin content was high, up to 92.3 J/g. Meanwhile, EP/Pa‐50 had a low supercooling extent of 11.0°C. Instead of the significant reduction in other properties of most PCMs after being blended with paraffin, the overall performance of EP/Pa‐50 remained good due to the strong intermolecular interactions between paraffin and MNAO (based on their good compatibility) and the reliable epoxy network, and EP/Pa‐50 exhibited excellent shape stability without the leakage problem, high thermal stability (remain stable below 170°C) and good mechanical properties (tensile strength up to 10.5 MPa). This work provides a facile strategy to prepare form‐stable PCMs, which have promising application prospects in the field of thermal regulation.

(a) FTIR spectra of ODT, MNA, and MNAO, (b) ¹H NMR spectra of ODT, MNA, and MNAO, (c) DSC curves of MNAO, (d) FTIR spectra of DGEBA, paraffin, EP/Pa‐0, and EP/Pa‐50, (e) SEM images of the cold‐fractured interface of EP/Pa samples (×600 magnification), (f) POM images of EP/Pa samples (×1200 magnification), and (g) XRD diagrams of paraffin and EP/Pa samples. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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(a) Visual images of EP/Pa samples at 25°C and 100°C for 60 min, (b) leakage rate of EP/Pa samples, DSC curves of paraffin and EP/Pa samples (c) in the melting process and (d) in the freezing process, and (e) DSC curves of EP/Pa‐50 before and after 100 thermal cycles. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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(a) TGA and (b) DTG curves of paraffin and EP/Pa samples from 50°C to 800°C under nitrogen, (c) tensile stress–strain curves of EP/Pa samples, (d) tensile strength, (e) tensile toughness, and (f) schematic diagram of high content paraffin as a defect point. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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Synthesis of MNAO and preparation of EP/Pa form‐stable PCMs. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2025; 142:e57090

https://doi.org/10.1002/app.57090

1 of 10

Journal of Applied Polymer Science

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Design and Synthesis of Reliable Paraffin/Epoxy Phase

Change Materials With Excellent Shape Stability and

Working Durability for Thermal Energy Regulation

JianjunZhou1 | XingLiu2 | JianqingZhao1,3,4

1School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China | 2School of Intelligent Manufacturing and

Materials Engineering, Gannan University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou, China | 3Key Lab Guangdong High Property & Functional Poly mer

Materials, Guangzhou, China | 4Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering, Ministr y of Education, Guangzhou,China

Correspondence: Xing Liu (9320240057@gnust.edu.cn) | Jianqing Zhao (psjqzhao@scut.edu.cn)

Received: 24 December 2024 | Revised: 19 March 2025 | Accepted: 23 March 2025

Funding: This work was supported by the project for 5G Communication Key Materials and Applications Program of Guangdong Province

(2020B010179001) and Enterprise Innovation Plan- High level Enterprise Research Institute's Program of Guangzhou (202205110010).

Keywords: differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)| structure–property relationships| thermal properties| thermosets

ABSTRACT

The preparation of phase change materials (PCMs) with excellent heat storage capacity, shape stability, and working durability is

of vital importance for their popularization and application. In this work, a series of form- stable PCMs was prepared via blending

diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), aliphatic anhydride with octadecyl side chains (MNAO), and paraf fin together followed

by thermal curing. Thanks to the plasticizing effect and self- assembly of paraffin, the crystalline behavior of paraffin and MNAO

was hardly limited by the epoxy network, and the latent heat of EP/Pa- 50 with 50 wt% paraffin content was high, up to 92.3 J/g.

Meanwhile, EP/Pa- 50 had a low supercooling extent of 11.0°C. Instead of the significant reduction in other properties of most

PCMs after being blended with paraffin, the overall performance of EP/Pa- 50 remained good due to the strong intermolecular

interactions between paraffin and MNAO (based on their good compatibility) and the reliable epoxy network, and EP/Pa- 50

exhibited excellent shape stability without the leakage problem, high thermal stability (remain stable below 170°C) and good

mechanical properties (tensile strength up to 10.5 MPa). This work provides a facile strategy to prepare form- stable PCMs, which

have promising application prospects in the field of thermal regulation.

1 | Introduction

With the consistent growth of the global population and rapid

industrial development, the consumption of fossil fuels is ever-

increasing, leading to a series of global problems such as the

energy crisis, pollution, and climate change [1–3]. Fortunately,

by reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, several approaches have

been explored to address these problems, as exemplified by the

utilization of renewable energy [4, 5] and the improvement of

energy efficiency [6, 7], with the latter receiving particular atten-

tion. At present, one of the cutting- edge technologies to enhance

the efficiency of thermal energy utilization is the usage of phase

change materials (PCMs), which store and release large amounts

of latent heat via phase change, thereby enabling thermal energy

management and energy saving [8–11].

Recently, lots of substances have been employed as PCMs.

Among them, paraffin is taken seriously gradually for its easy

availability, large heat of fusion, and low supercooling [12–15].

However, it is not yet practical for direct use because of the reli-

ability concerns. Indeed, paraffin is a typical solid–liquid phase

change substance with the significant drawback of easy leakage.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

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