Glycerol Carbonate Valorization into Urethane Phase Change Materials Shape-Stabilized with a Carbon Aerogel
Magdalena Gwóźdź, Daniel Biegun, Caleb Stamper, Fatima Izhar, Saliha Saher, Motaher Hossain, Nicolas Brun, Karolina Matuszek, Alina Brzęczek-SzafranAbstract
The study explores glycerol carbonate as a renewable precursor for synthesizing urethane-based PCMs via a straightforward reaction with long-chain amines, yielding materials with melting temperatures of 57−64 °C and latent heat capacities of 97−128 J g−1 suitable for low-temperature applications. Their thermal properties were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, while variable-temperature Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction characterized structural changes during phase transitions. Long-term stability evaluation of the polyol phase change material (PCM) revealed a 17.2% decrease in melting enthalpy over the first 300 thermal cycles. Incorporation of a selected PCM into a porous carbon aerogel (XPh50-950) at an 84 wt % loading suppressed leakage and reduced the enthalpy from 128 to 82 J g−1 while mitigating degradation to maintain stable thermal performance over 600 cycles.