Pentaerythritol (PE) is a kind of solid solid phase change materials with high latent heat. To improve its performances of crystallization and phase change, nano-AIN particles were physically mixed into PE as nucleating agent. The PE/3 wt% nano-AIN composite and pure PE were characterized using FT-IR and SEM analysis technique. Thermal properties and non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the composite PCM were determined by DSC analysis. The solid solid phase change processes of PE/3 wt% nano-AIN composite and pure PE were experimental investigated. The results showed that the addition of nano-AIN can accelerate the crystallization rate and reduce the supercooling degree of PE during cooling process. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.