Fabrication and thermal properties of novel myristic acid/MgO/BN composite phase change materials for thermal energy storage

A series of composite phase change materials (PCMs) were synthesized using myristic acid (MA) as the PCM, magnesium oxide (MgO) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as both support materials and thermal conductivity enhancers. Leakage experiments indicate that the total mass fraction of MgO and h-BN reaches about 20 wt% to eliminate the leakage. FT-IR and XRD results confirm that MA, MgO and h-BN are physically combined with each other. SEM images show that MA is filled into the voids of MgO and h-BN. DSC analysis indicates that the composites have two melting processes. Thermogravimetric results show that the composites have excellent thermal stability at the melting temperature. Thermal conductivity results show that the thermal conductivity of composites can be improved by incorporating h-BN at the same MgO content. In addition, the thermal conductivity can be significantly improved by introducing h-BN compared to adding MgO.