Microencapsulation and Morphological Characterization of Renewable Microencapsulated Phase‐Change Materials with Cellulose Diacetate Shell

Abstract

In this study, a series of microcapsules containing phase change material (MicroPCMs) with cellulose diacetate shell derived from natural renewable cellulose were fabricated via solution spray method. The effects of preparation parameters on the surface morphology and microstructure of cellulose diacetate microcapsules were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscope (FE‐SEM). Then the obtained MicroPCMs were treated with crosslinking reagent glutaraldehyde to enhance the sealness and compactness of shell. The craters existed on the surface of cellulose diacetate MicroPCMs increased the specific surface area, thus the heat‐exchange surface of PCMs core enhanced accordingly. The phase change behavior and thermal stability of MicroPCMs were investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. While fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to studied the chemical composition and surface elements of MicroPCMs. Potential applications of this renewable MicroPCMs include thermal energy storage and thermal regulation/control fields.

Encapsulation methods for phase change materials – A critical review

“…Li et al [116] adopted acetone/dimethylacetamide (DMA) as the mixed solvent and cellulose diacetate (CDA) as the shell to encapsulate the n-octadecane by spray method. The optimal CDA concentration and acetone/DMA was found to be 6 wt.% and 1:1, respectively.…”

Preparation and properties of porous diatomite-supported multi-walled carbon nanotubes with Na2SO4·10H2O-based phase change energy storage composites

“…Diatomite is a natural mineral material with abundant reserves, low cost and simple mining technology. At present, there are still some problems in the research of diatomite matrix composite PCMs, such as low energy storage density and low thermal conductivity [9].…”