Marcos, Marco A.Cabaleiro, DavidGarcía Guimarey, María JesúsPérez Comuñas, María JoséFedele, LauraFernández Pérez, JosefaLugo, Luis2020-06-012020-06-012018Marcos, M.A.; Cabaleiro, D.; Guimarey, M.J.G.; Comuñas, M.J.P.; Fedele, L.; Fernández, J.; Lugo, L. PEG 400-Based Phase Change Materials Nano-Enhanced with Functionalized Graphene Nanoplatelets. Nanomaterials 2018, 8, 16http://hdl.handle.net/10347/22750This study presents new Nano-enhanced Phase Change Materials, NePCMs, formulated as dispersions of functionalized graphene nanoplatelets in a poly(ethylene glycol) with a mass-average molecular mass of 400 g·mol−1 for possible use in Thermal Energy Storage. Morphology, functionalization, purity, molecular mass and thermal stability of the graphene nanomaterial and/or the poly(ethylene glycol) were characterized. Design parameters of NePCMs were defined on the basis of a temporal stability study of nanoplatelet dispersions using dynamic light scattering. Influence of graphene loading on solid-liquid phase change transition temperature, latent heat of fusion, isobaric heat capacity, thermal conductivity, density, isobaric thermal expansivity, thermal diffusivity and dynamic viscosity were also investigated for designed dispersions. Graphene nanoplatelet loading leads to thermal conductivity enhancements up to 23% while the crystallization temperature reduces up to in 4 K. Finally, the heat storage capacities of base fluid and new designed NePCMs were examined by means of the thermophysical properties through Stefan and Rayleigh numbers. Functionalized graphene nanoplatelets leads to a slight increase in the Stefan number.eng© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Graphene nanoplateletsPoly(ethylene glycol)NePCMSolid-liquid phase changeThermal conductivityDynamic viscosityVolumetric behaviourjournal article10.3390/nano80100162079-4991open access