Micro/nanoencapsulated phase change materials, used typically as energy storage materials, are frequently applied in energy-saving and energy-efficient processes. In this work, we proposed a novel method for the micro/nanoencapsulation of phase change materials (PCMs), which has the advantage of simple operation and can be suitable for encapsulation of more than one PCM. Fatty acid PCMs, such as steric acid and palmitic acid, and non-fatty acid PCMs, like beeswax, have both been successfully micro/nanoencapsulated by a silver bromide (AgBr) shell with this method. The obtained fatty acid/AgBr micro/nanocapsules, with diameters of less than 1 µm, show good thermal storage capacities over 150 J/g with their encapsulation ratios as high as 92.4%. Similarly, the prepared beeswax/AgBr micro/nanocapsules show a high encapsulation ratio. In addition, all the micro/nanocapsules exhibit good thermal stability. Therefore, the method developed by this work is highly-efficient for the encapsulation of PCMs, which is beneficial for PCMs in various applications as energy storage materials.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.