Experimental enhancement study of thermophysical properties of ternary carbonate phase change material with multi-dimensional nanoparticles

Carbonates have great application potential as heat transfer and thermal energy storage media in the development of future phase change materials. This paper gives thermophysical properties enhancement study on ternary carbonates in liquid state by adding aluminum oxide nanoparticles, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets, and experimentally evaluate the performance strengthen ability of multi-dimensional nanoparticles. The thermal diffusivities and specific heats of the prepared samples by the water solution method are determined using the laser flash technique and the differential scanning calorimetry at liquid state, respectively. A thermogravimetric analyzer is deployed for evaluate the high-temperature thermal stability of the composite ternary carbonates. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques are utilized to examine the surface morphologies and chemical structures of the samples. The results indicate that there is a cooperative reinforcement impact on the thermophysical properties of ternary carbonate by utilizing zero-dimensional Al₂O₃ nanoparticles and two-dimensional graphene nanosheets, with a maximum improvement of 56.7 % for thermal conductivity, and 10.3 % for specific heat, which is apparently larger than adding any single nanoparticle. The composites exhibit superior thermal cycling stability after low-high temperature experiment, and samples can maintain thermal stability until 700 °C in the thermogravimetric analysis.