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Ultraflexible, cost-effective and scalable polymer-based phase change composites via chemical cross-linking for wearable thermal management.
- Source :
- Nature Communications; 6/26/2023, Vol. 14 Issue 1, p1-12, 12p
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Phase change materials (PCMs) offer great potential for realizing zero-energy thermal management due to superior thermal storage and stable phase-change temperatures. However, liquid leakage and solid rigidity of PCMs are long-standing challenges for PCM-based wearable thermal regulation. Here, we report a facile and cost-effective chemical cross-linking strategy to develop ultraflexible polymer-based phase change composites with a dual 3D crosslinked network of olefin block copolymers (OBC) and styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) in paraffin wax (PW). The C-C bond-enhanced OBC-SEBS networks synergistically improve the mechanical, thermal, and leakage-proof properties of PW@OBC-SEBS. Notably, the proposed peroxide-initiated chemical cross-linking method overcomes the limitations of conventional physical blending methods and thus can be applicable across diverse polymer matrices. We further demonstrate a portable and flexible PW@OBC-SEBS module that maintains a comfortable temperature range of 39–42 °C for personal thermotherapy. Our work provides a promising route to fabricate scalable polymer-based phase change composite for wearable thermal management.Jing et al. report a cost-effective chemical cross-linking method for synthesizing ultraflexible polymer-based phase change composites with 3D crosslinked networks and further demonstrate portable applications for wearable thermal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20411723
- Volume :
- 14
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Nature Communications
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 174023059
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43772-4