Enhanced thermal and hydrophobic surface properties of shape‐stabilized nanodiamond/fatty alcohol grafted poly(ethylene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) composite phase change materials

Fatty alcohol grafted poly(ethylene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) (PEMA‐g‐FA) are synthesized from esterification of poly (ethylene‐alt‐maleic anhydride) (PEMA) with tetradecanol and octadecanol. Obtained PEMA‐g‐FA's composites were prepared with different ratios of nanodiamond as phase change materials (PCM).The chemical structure of the synthesized PEMA‐g‐FA was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Phase change behaviors of PEMA‐g‐FA and their composites were examined by using differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal stability of the samples was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, the surface morphology of the samples was investigated by a scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscope. The melting and freezing temperature and enthalpy of comb‐like polymers were increased with increasing the content of nanodiamond and the n‐alkyl side chains length. Finally, the obtained results prove that, thanks to high latent heat storage capacity and high thermal stability, the prepared comb‐like polymeric PCMs and their composites could be used in thermal energy storage applications. The prepared shape stabilized composite PCMs could be a promising material and could have practical applications in industries such as solar cooling refrigeration systems, solar air heating systems, and smart textile systems. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:1887–1895, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers