Preparation of flexible phase change fiber membrane for thermal insulation based on electrostatic spinning process

Abstract

The electrospinning technique not only encapsulates the phase change material (PCM) within a fibrous matrix, thereby preventing its leakage, but also addresses the application limitations associated with graphitic carbon (GC) containing carbonized zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67). In this study, we prepared flexible nanocomposite fiber membranes using the electrospinning technique. The fibrous membranes exhibit both the excellent thermal management capabilities inherent to phase change materials and the low thermal conductivity characteristic of thermal insulation materials. This phenomenon can be attributed to the fibrous membranes' reliance on molecular chain vibrations and the thermal energy transfer facilitated by gases within the free volume, which makes heat transfer more challenging in these membranes. Conversely, the incorporation of GC enhances the thermal stability and photothermal conversion capabilities of the fibrous membranes. In the simulated heat retention experiment, the fibrous membranes display superior heat preservation performance, and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test reveals that these membranes possess enhanced heat storage capacity. The excellent heat storage and thermal insulation capabilities of the fibrous membranes suggest promising applications in the thermal insulation domain.