Development and thermophysical investigation of stable fatty alcohol/SiO2 phase change material microcapsules through interfacial polycondensation

Abstract

Developing competent energy storage materials is crucial for efficient thermal energy storage and utilization. Microencapsulated lauryl alcohol as phase change material using SiO₂ shell was prepared through a novel one-pot synthesis of interfacial polycondensation using tetraethyl orthosilicate as a shell precursor. The thermal properties were analyzed through differential scanning calorimetry, which revealed that the melting and freezing points of microcapsules were 23 °C and 18.9 °C, respectively. For melting and freezing, the estimated latent heats were 90 J g⁻¹ and 88.2 J g⁻¹, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis confirms that the microcapsules are stable at a higher temperature. Besides, the leak test of the developed microcapsules was performed to investigate the stability during the melting process. Moreover, the prepared microcapsules (MPCM2) show stable and excellent thermophysical properties after 500 thermal cycles, which shows that the developed microcapsule is an ideal candidate for thermal energy storage.

Graphical abstract