Nanoencapsulation of Organic Phase Change Materials in Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) for Energy Storage and Conversion

Abstract

This work focuses on the encapsulation of two organic phase change materials (PCMs), hexadecane and octadecane, through the formation of nanocapsules of the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) obtained by oxidative polymerization in miniemulsion. The energy storage capacity of nanoparticles is studied by preparing polymer films on supporting substrates. The results indicate that the prepared systems can store and later release thermal energy in the form of latent heat efficiently, which is of vital importance to increase the efficiency of future thermoelectric devices.

Keywords

• phase change material (PCM)
• thermoelectric generator (TEG)
• conducting polymer
• miniemulsion polymerization
• nanoencapsulation
• PEDOT