Phase change materials

Phase change materials (PCM) can serve as a heat reservoir in walls, fibers and coatings, thus helping regulate the temperature inside vehicles, buildings and people wearing them. The main challenge for their utilization is the need for mechanically robust, high latent heat systems. Our goal is to develop a series of polymeric systems that can efficiently and reversibly undergo phase transitions around room temperature.  Below are a few thermograms illustrating the thermal behavior of some of our materials.

This project is now funded by the NSF through award # 1662675.

Details are here.