Effect of Silver Nanoparticles on the Thermal Properties of Sodium Acetate Trihydrate

Sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) is used as a phase change material (PCM) because of its high latent heat of fusion. Mixtures were prepared with SAT, a blend of the polymer sodium carboxymethil cellulose (CMC) and silica gel, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and anhydrous sodium sulfate to form a composite-PCM (c-PCM) based on SAT; the relative proportions of CMC/silica gel in the blend and AgNP content were varied according to a central composite experimental design. The thermal properties were determined for raw SAT, CMC, Na₂SO₄, and c-PCM samples. The thermal effusivity (e_s) of samples was evaluated by the inverse photopyroelectric technique. The thermal diffusivity (D_s) was obtained for samples by the open photoacoustic cell technique. The thermal conductivity (k_s) was calculated from the obtained e_s and D_s values. To assess the thermal performance of the c-PCM compared to raw SAT, samples were studied through differential scanning calorimetry which served to determine the latent heat recovery (LHR). Properties e_s, D_s, k_s, and LHR were analyzed by response surface methodology and compared. The SAT-based c-PCM was found to be more thermally conductive than raw SAT. The best LHR with good thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity was identified in the region of the central composite experimental design with medium–low AgNPs and higher proportions of CMC in the polymer blend.