Fabrication of ZnO-Paraffin nanocomposite and its application in thermoelectric device

Thermal energy storage (TES) plays a significant part in today’s energy management systems. Phase change materials (PCM) are amongst the most extensively used materials in thermal energy storage systems, allowing for greater storage capacity and desirable discharge temperatures. In this study zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized and was characterized with the aid of X-ray Diffraction, Ultra violet visible Spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The synthesized nanomaterials were dispersed into paraffin wax in 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 weight percentages and thermal analysis was done on pure paraffin and paraffin infused with the range of nanomaterials. It was observed that paraffin PCM infused with 2.5 wt.% ZnO exhibited the greatest improvement in thermal performance of 18.84% and 34.4% improvement in heating and cooling cycles respectively. Electronic cooling capability of ZnO infused PCM was further investigated. Wearable TEC wrist cooler is developed using heat sink filled with nano infused PCM to eliminate excess heat produced. Nano infused PCM filled heat sink absorbs heat and keeps the temperature lower than heat sink without PCM. As a result, an efficient, miniaturized, weight less, and portable wrist cooling device was created to help relieve the symptoms of heat stress