Boron-modified form stable phase change materials with high energy storage, flame retardancy, and smoke suppression for advanced photo-to-heat conversion

Ruizhi Zheng; Renjie Chen; Feng Wu; Delong Xie; Yi Mei

doi:10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108804

Polymer Testing (Jun 2025)

Boron-modified form stable phase change materials with high energy storage, flame retardancy, and smoke suppression for advanced photo-to-heat conversion

Ruizhi Zheng,
Renjie Chen,
Feng Wu,
Delong Xie,
Yi Mei

Affiliations

Ruizhi Zheng: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, The International Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Polymers of Yunnan Province, The Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Phosphorus Chemical Engineering of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650500, PR China
Renjie Chen: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Kunming University, Kunming, 650214, PR China
Feng Wu: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, The International Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Polymers of Yunnan Province, The Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Phosphorus Chemical Engineering of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650500, PR China; Corresponding author.
Delong Xie: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, The International Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Polymers of Yunnan Province, The Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Phosphorus Chemical Engineering of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650500, PR China
Yi Mei: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, The International Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Polymers of Yunnan Province, The Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Phosphorus Chemical Engineering of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650500, PR China; Corresponding author.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108804
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 147
p. 108804

Abstract

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This study developed form-stable phase change materials (FSPCMs) with high energy storage density, superior flame retardancy, and effective smoke suppression by incorporating boric acid-grafted octadecanol (BO) as the phase change material and expanded graphite (EG)/low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as the supporting matrix. To further enhance flame retardancy, ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and pentaerythritol (PER) were introduced as synergistic flame retardants. The optimized FSPCMs (60 wt% BO, 27 wt% LDPE, 3 wt% EG, 6 wt% APP, and 3 wt% PER) exhibited outstanding performance, achieving a latent heat of 122.6 J/g, a limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 23.3 % (UL-94 V-0 rating), a 78.5 % reduction in smoke production rate, a 68.3 % decrease in smoke density, and a 77.2 % photo-thermal conversion efficiency. A systematic analysis of BO's molecular structure revealed its significant influence on phase change behavior and flame-retardant properties. The boric acid grafting strategy notably enhanced BO's char-forming capability, elucidating its synergistic flame-retardant and smoke-suppression mechanisms. The developed FSPCMs hold promise to applied in energy storage and safety-critical applications.

Published in Polymer Testing

ISSN: 0142-9418 (Print); 1873-2348 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Polymers and polymer manufacture
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/polymer-testing

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