PEG–mortar and PEG–gypsum composite materials for passive thermal energy storage (TES) applications in buildings

Two types of shape-stabilized composite Phase Change Materials (sscPCMs)—PEG₁₀₀₀/silica/MWCNTs and PEG₆₀₀₀/silica/MWCNTs, respectively—were embedded in two different inorganic matrices that are commercially available as building materials (lime-cement mortar and gypsum) in order to obtain building elements with latent heat storage properties. The two PEG/silica/MWCNTs materials were prepared in our lab using a previously published method [1]. Three different concentrations of the two sscPCMs (2.5%, 5%, and 10%) were added to the mortar, whereas only a 10% concentration of sscPCMs was investigated for gypsum. The new PEG–mortar and PEG–gypsum composites were cast in parallelepiped molds (L x w x h = 50 mm x 30 mm x 20 mm) to obtain brick-type construction elements (for building facades). The bricks thus produced were characterized from a morpho-structural point of view and were subjected to tests regarding their compressive strength. In order to verify their functionality, the behavior of the materials after exposure to 62 repeated heating–cooling cycles was also evaluated.

Funding: This work was supported by Romanian Ministry of Education and Research through INCDCP ICECHIM Bucharest 2022-2027 Core Program PN. 23.06 – ChemNewDeal, by project no. PN. 23.06. 01.01 - AQUAMAT.

References:

1. C.L. Nistor, I.C. Gîfu, E.M. Anghel, R. Ianchis, C.-D. Cirstea, C.A. Nicolae, A.R. Gabor, I. Atkinson, C. Petcu, Novel PEG6000–Silica-MWCNTs Shape-Stabilized Composite Phase-Change Materials (ssCPCMs) for Thermal-Energy Storage, Polymers 2023, 15(14), 3022; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15143022