Fabrication and Characterization of Poly(n-alkyl acrylic) Ester Shape-Stable Phase-Change Materials Based on UV Curing

The introduction of cross-linked monomers to solve the leakage problem of solid–liquid phase-change materials (SLPCMs) has received wide research attention; however, no reports have stated the use of postprocessing methods to obtain shape-stable phase-change materials (SSPCMs) quickly and efficiently. In the present work, N-hexadecyl acrylate (HDA) was free-radical copolymerized with 4-acryloyloxybenzophenone (ABP) to form a copolymer with UV-sensitive groups. The resultant copolymer was further solidified under UV irradiation to obtain a series of novel SSPCMs. The proposed fabrication process was green and efficient. The cured specimen (SPHDBG) fabricated by mixing the copolymer of HDA-ABP (PHDAB) and HDA-modified graphene (GN16) had excellent shape stability, thermal responsiveness, and solar-to-thermal energy conversion performance. The melting and crystallizing enthalpies of SPHDBG were 76 and 75 J/g, respectively. The phase transition temperatures of the fabricated SPHDBG ranged between 26 and 36 °C, which are within the temperature range for human body comfort. The thermal decomposition temperature was approximately 338 °C. This work provides new technical support for n-alkyl acrylates to be used as practical PCMs in various applications, such as solar energy storage, smart textiles, and energy-saving buildings.