Hierarchical 3D Reduced Graphene Porous-Carbon-Based PCMs for Superior Thermal Energy Storage Performance

Phase change enthalpy and thermal conductivity are the two essential parameters for practical applications of shape-stabilized phase change materials (ss-PCMs). Herein, hierarchical three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene porous carbon support PCMs have been successfully synthesized by carbonizing a graphene oxide@metal–organic framework (GO@MOF) template, which simultaneously realizes large phase change enthalpy and high thermal conductivity. During the carbonization process, MOFs were converted into hierarchical porous carbons, whereas GO was reduced to high-thermal-performance reduced graphene (rGO). Thus, a hierarchical 3D porous carbon structure with high porosity and large specific surface area was obtained, which provided a suitable condition for encapsulating PCMs. Furthermore, the pores of carbon stabilized the PCMs by capillary force and surface tension. The interaction between the PCM molecule and rGO significantly decreased the interfacial thermal resistance and made the composites reveal high thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the 3D network structure promoted the stretching and crystallization characteristics of the stearic acid molecule in the confined pore space, which enhanced the heat release efficiency. Compared with the rGO/MOF-5-C support, the hierarchical 3D structure of rGO@MOF-5-C revealed a thermal conductivity of 0.60 ± 0.02 W m–1 K–1, which was 27.7% improvement, with large phase change latent heat of 168.7 J g–1, which increased by 18.5%. Additionally, the obtained ss-PCMs showed transient thermal response and good durability, indicating its promising potential in thermal energy storage application.