Preparation and thermal properties of a phase change material modified by a functionalized reduced graphene oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) prepared by the Hummers method was first functionalized by N,N,N-trimethyl-1-hexadecanaminium bromide (CTAB), then reduced by hydrazine hydrate to obtain CTAB-RGO. The CTAB-RGO was dispersed in a phase change material, decanoic acid-lauryl alcohol (55/45 wt/wt) at 40℃ under sonication. The latent heat and thermal conductivity of the CTAB-RGO modified phase change material were investigated. Results show that the addition of CTAB-RGO increases its latent heat and thermal conductivity. The latent heat and thermal conductivity are 164.7 J/g and 0.94 W/(m·K), respectively when 1% CTAB-RGO is added, which correspond to increases of 22% and 184% compared with those of the unmodified material.