Short-Chain Modified SiO₂ with High Absorption of Organic PCM for Thermal Protection

Organic phase change materials (PCMs) have great potential in thermal protection applications but they suffer from high volumetric change and easy leakage, which require “leak-proof” packaging materials with low thermal conductivity. Herein, we successfully modify SiO2 through a simple 2-step method consisting of n-hexane activation followed by short-chain alkane silanization. The modified SiO2 (M-SiO2) exhibits superior hydrophobic property while maintaining the intrinsic high porosity of SiO2. The surface modification significantly improves the absorption rate of RT60 in SiO2 by 38%. The M-SiO2/RT60 composite shows high latent heat of 180 J·g−1, low thermal conductivity of 0.178 W·m−1·K−1, and great heat capacity behavior in a high-power thermal circuit with low penetrated heating flow. Our results provide a simple approach for preparing hydrophobic SiO2 with high absorption of organic PCM for thermal protection applications.