Authors : Saloni Sarda, Aman Yadav, Akshika Mishra, Anas Islam, Aviral Chaurasia, Yogeshwar Nath Mishra, A.K. Pandey
DOI : 10.1016/j.ecmx.2026.102095
Volume : 30
Issue : 0
Year : 2026
Page No : 102095
Organic PCM (RT50) offers a high latent heat storage capacity, but low thermal conductivity and thermal stability restrict the use of the PCM in real-world thermal energy storage (TES) applications. To overcome the aforementioned problems, Neem waste-derived (NM) microparticles were synthesised for a relative investigation via a facile method. The inclusion of NM microparticles aimed to improve the thermal and optical characteristics of the RT50 PCM. In this research, surface morphology results demonstrated a consistent distribution of NM microparticles within the RT50 matrix, while Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy validated the chemical stability of the developed PCM composites via dispersing 0.5, 0.7, 1.0 and 1.5 wt% of DS into RT50 PCM using the ultrasonication method. Further, based on the experimental results, the thermal conductivity of the developed composite was improved by 85.71% at 1.0 wt% NM microparticles, compared with the base RT50 PCM. Additionally, a marginal enhancement in latent heat enthalpy and melting point of 0.89% and 1.92%, respectively, was observed for the developed RT + NM composite compared with the base RT50 PCM. Thermogravimetric study indicated improved thermal stability by 3.4% of the developed PCM composite compared with the base PCM. As shown, the optimal composite and the base PCM are subjected to 500 thermal heating and cooling cycles, and the composite shows reliable results after the cycles. Additionally, Energy 2-D software is used to evaluate the heat transfer rate in the fin-integrated PCM system. The results show that the fin integrated with the composite tends to reduce the temperature of the developed system by 5.20 °C, as compared with the fin integrated with the base PCM system