Thermal properties and reliabilities of myristic acid–paraffin wax binary eutectic mixture as a phase change material for solar energy storage

In this work, a myristic acid (MA)–paraffin wax (PW) binary eutectic phase change material (PCM) was prepared by a melt-solution blending method. The eutectic point of the MA–PW binary system was determined to be 62 wt% MA–38 wt% PW using a cooling curve. In addition, the phase transition properties and thermal stability of MA–PW binary eutectic PCM were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG) analysis. The melting temperature and latent heat as well as starting temperature of decomposition for MA–PW binary eutectic PCM were 41.99 °C, 171.43 J g(−1) and 137.86 °C, respectively. Besides, analysis of the chemical and crystal structures of MA, PW and MA–PW revealed no chemical reaction between MA and PW to produce a new molecular structure and no change in the crystal structure. Finally, MA–PW binary eutectic PCM still has good thermal properties and chemical stability after 500 cold–hot cycles.