MXene-based flexible composite phase change material for battery thermal management application

Abstract

Although the phase change material (PCM) is increasingly recognized for its potential in battery thermal management application, the effectiveness of PCM is hindered by issues such as high rigidity, prone leakage and low thermal conductivity. To get rid of such predicament, a novel flexible composite PCM containing the myristyl alcohol/olefin block copolymer/MXene is fabricated and tested in this paper, and then the applicability of this composite PCM on battery thermal management is evaluated through numerical simulation. The results indicate that the MXene enhances the thermal conductivity of the composite PCM, and up to 207 % increment is acquired by 15 wt% MXene. The excellent thermally-induced flexibility of the composite PCM is realized owing to the olefin block copolymer. Under the cooperative action of the MXene and the olefin block copolymer, the composite PCM features outstanding thermal reliability. As for the battery cooling application, the composite PCM features superior characteristic than the air. Considering the better thermal control performance, the low MXene addition in the composite PCM is appropriate for the high discharge rate, while the high MXene addition is suitable for the low discharge rate. The PCM thickness between parallel batteries exerts greater impact on battery thermal management in contrast to the PCM thickness between series batteries. The prepared composite PCM can meet the thermal control requirements when the ambient temperature is 20–35 °C.