Thermal cycling of molecular alloys and eutectics containing alkanes for energy storage

It is shown that molecular alloys of alkanes can provide suitable materials to work as MAPCMs (Molecular Alloys Phase Change Materials) in the field of energy storage and/or thermal protection, if two conditions are respected. The first is to choose the right composition(s) in the right alkanes system(s) to obtain the melting of the alloy at the required level of temperature. The second one is to choose alloys having a narrow thermal window. Reliability tests have been performed on different kinds of these sorts of MAPCMs. Their melting and crystallization behavior during thermal cyclings is excellent either at the mg scale or at the several grams scale.