INVESTIGADORES
HOPPE Cristina Elena
artículos
Título:
Poly(dodecyl methacrylate) as Solvent of Paraffins for Phase Change Materials and Thermally Reversible Light Scattering Films
Autor/es:
J. PUIG; R.J.J. WILLIAMS; C. E. HOPPE
Revista:
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Editorial:
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
Referencias:
Lugar: Washington; Año: 2013 vol. 5 p. 9180 - 9185
ISSN:
1944-8244
Resumen:
Paraffins are typical organic phase change materials (PCM) used
for latent heat storage. For practical applications they must be encapsulated to
prevent leakage or agglomeration during fusion. In this study it is shown that
eicosane (C20H42 = C20) in the melted state could be dissolved in the
hydrophobic domains of poly(dodecyl methacrylate) (PDMA) up to
concentrations of 30 wt %, avoiding the need of encapsulation. For a 30 wt %
solution, the heat of phase change was close to 69 J/g, a reasonable value for its
use as a PCM. The fully converted solution remained transparent at 80 °C with
no evidence of phase separation but became opaque by cooling as a consequence
of paraffin crystallization. Heating above the melting temperature regenerated a
transparent material. A high contrast ratio and abrupt transition between opaque
and transparent states was observed for the 30 wt % blends, with a transparent
state at 35 °C and an opaque state at 23 °C. This behavior was completely
reproducible during consecutive heating/cooling cycles, indicating the possible use of this material as a thermally reversible light scattering (TRLS) film.