Preparation of hydrophobic lauric acid/SiO2 shape-stabilized phase change materials for thermal energy storage

Abstract Lauric acid (LA)/SiO 2 shape-stabilized phase change materials (PCMs) were fabricated by a facile one-pot method involving co-hydrolysis and co-condensation process of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTES). With increasing the volume ratio of MTES to TEOS, the surface of LA/SiO 2 PCMs changed from hydrophilic to highly hydrophobic, and the melting latent heats decreased from 93.8 J/g to 60.3 J/g. These composite PCMs exhibited high thermal stability and effective storage of the latent heat, demonstrating suitable for applications in regulation and maintenance of temperature.