Graphene-enhanced phase change materials for thermal management of battery packs

Abstract

Graphene and few-layer graphene reveal exceptionally high thermal conduction properties, which can be used for thermal management. Here we show that incorporation of graphene and few-layer graphene to the hydrocarbon-based phase change material allows one to increase its thermal conductivity by more than two orders of magnitude while preserving its latent heat storage ability. A combination of the sensible and latent heat storage together with the improved heat conduction results in a composite material with the exceptional thermal management capabilities. We show that the graphene-enhanced phase change material can substantially improve the thermal management of Li-ion and other advanced types o f batteries.