Phase-change
polymers (PCPs), exhibiting solid–solid phase
transition, bring advancement to the conventional solid–liquid
system for thermal energy storage. Such a system obtained as an aqueous
dispersion is recommended for application as a surface coating. However,
achieving good colloidal stability with efficient energy-storage performance
requires precise process designing. Herein, we developed a film-forming
PCP that was synthesized from emulsion gels stabilized by cellulose
nanofiber-based amphiphiles (CLAm’s). The CLAm was obtained
by grafting an amphiphile at a significantly higher degree (0.2–2.4).
Depending on the degree of substitution and type of oil, the CLAm
was able to efficiently stabilize o/w emulsion gels containing a very
high oil phase (>90.0%) at a concentration of about 0.1 wt %. The
PCPs were produced by the copolymerization of stearyl methacrylate
(SMA) and methyl methacrylate used as the oil phase in emulsion gels.
The composite film obtained from the colloidal dispersion of P(SMA-co-MMA) exhibited a solid–solid (crystalline–amorphous)
phase transition involving high latent heat of upto ∼98 J/g
for the melting and crystallization of SMA segments at ∼35
and ∼25 °C, respectively. This approach provides significant
advancement in designing an efficient energy-storage material using
plant-derived biocompatible nanomaterials.