{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T18:13:10Z","timestamp":1790014390688,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]],"date-time":"2026-09-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789776000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Phase-change energy storage materials have the potential to improve the durability of hydraulic concrete; however, phase-change materials suitable for dam engineering within the 0\u20135 \u00b0C phase-transition range remain limited. In this study, a binary phase-change material was prepared by melt blending n-decanol (DA) and n-octanoic acid (CA). Expanded vermiculite (EV), with a layered porous structure, was selected as the form-stabilizing support matrix. A thermally stable DA-CA\/EV composite phase-change material was then prepared by melt impregnation and adsorption, and its thermal properties, shape-stabilization performance, and thermal reliability were systematically characterized. The results indicate that the optimal binary composition is 35 wt.% DA and 65 wt.% CA, with a solidification phase-transition temperature of 2.5 \u00b0C and a latent heat of 163 kJ\/kg. Moreover, the use of 100-mesh EV as the supporting matrix effectively prevents leakage. The optimal thermal conductivity is achieved when approximately 50 wt.% PCM is adsorbed while a high bulk density is maintained. Owing to its favorable thermal performance and structural stability, the prepared PCM shows promise for application in hydraulic concrete.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19183983","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T17:23:17Z","timestamp":1790011397000},"page":"3983","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Preparation and Characterization of a Binary Form-Stable Composite Phase-Change Material Based on n-Decanol and n-Octanoic Acid"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-0977-4712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guanyu","family":"Zhu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Hongde","family":"Zhen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-9045-0973","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Rumeng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Biao","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Bin","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai\u2019an 271018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2185","DOI":"10.1002\/suco.202000832","article-title":"Evolution of thermal parameters of wet-screened dam concrete after different freeze-thaw deterioration","volume":"23","author":"Huang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Struct. 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