The Confinement Behavior and Mechanistic Insights of Organic Phase Change Material Encapsulated in Wood Morphology Genetic Nanostructures for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

Wood, a renewable and abundant biomass resource, holds substantial promise as an encapsulation matrix for thermal energy storage (TES) applications involving phase change materials (PCMs). However, practical implementations often reveal a disparity between observed and theoretical phase change enthalpy values of wood-derived composite PCMs (CPCMs). This study systematically explores the confinement behavior of organic PCMs encapsulated in a delignified balsa wood matrix with morphology genetic nanostructure, characterized by a specific surface area of 25.4 ± 1.1 m2/g and nanoscale pores averaging 2.2 nm. Detailed thermal performance evaluations uncover distinct phase change behaviors among various organic PCMs, influenced by the unique characteristics of functional groups and carbon chain lengths. The encapsulation mechanism is primarily dictated by host–guest interactions, which modulate PCM molecular mobility through hydrogen bonding and spatial constraints imposed by the hierarchical pore structure of the wood. Notably, results demonstrate a progressive enhancement of nanoconfinement effects, evidencing a transition from octadecane to stearic acid, further supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This research significantly advances the understanding of nanoconfinement mechanisms in wood-derived matrices, paving the way for the development of high-performance, shape-stabilized composite PCMs that are essential for sustainable thermal energy storage solutions.