Progress in Research of Paraffin Wax Based Phase Change Materials

Due to the high storage density,the large range of phase change temperature and the low price,paraffin waxes have been applied as phase change materials(PCMs).In spite of their desirable properties of the original materials,low thermal conductivities are their major drawback.The low thermal conductivities in turn limit their utility areas.To overcome the low thermal conductivity problem,solid particles with high thermal conductivity were added into the melting paraffin wax to make nanocomposite.The authors summarize the merits and defects of the paraffin wax based composite phase change materials and prospected the development trend of the paraffin wax based composite PCMs.