Synthesis and thermal properties of poly(styrene-co-ally alcohol)-graft-stearic acid copolymers as novel solid–solid PCMs for thermal energy storage

A series of poly(styrene-co-allyalcohol)-graft-stearic acid copolymers were synthesized as novel polymeric solid–solid phase change materials (SSPCMs). The graft copolymerization reactions between poly(styrene-co-allyalcohol) and stearoyl chloride were verified by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy techniques. The crystal morphology of the SSPCMs was investigated using polarized optical microscopy (POM) technique. Thermal energy storage properties of the synthesized SSPCMs were measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The POM results showed that the crystalline phase of the copolymers transformed to amorphous phase above their phase transition temperatures. Thermal energy storage properties of the synthesized SSPCMs were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and found that they had typical solid–solid phase transition temperatures in the range of 27–30 C and high latent heat enthalpy between 34 and 74 J/g. Especially, the copolymer with the mole ratio of 1/1 (poly(styrene-co-allyalcohol)/stearoyl chloride) is the most attractive one due to the highest latent heat storage capacity among them. The results of DSC and FT-IR analysis indicated that the synthesized SSPCMs had good thermal reliability and chemical stability after 5000 thermal cycles. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis results suggested that the synthesized SSPCMs had high thermal resistance. In addition, thermal conductivity measurements signified that the synthesized PCMs had higher thermal conductivity compared to that of poly(styrene-co-allyalcohol). The synthesized copolymers as novel SSPCMs have considerable potential for thermal energy storage applications such as solar space heating and cooling in buildings and greenhouses. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.