Microencapsulation of Fatty Acid as Phase Change Material for Latent Heat Storage

Abstract

A kind of latent heat storage microcapsule was prepared using lauric acid as core and melamine-formaldehyde resin as shell via in-situ polymerization.The core-to-shell mass ratio was 1∶1.The chemical composition,thermal properties and surface morphology of the obtained microcapsules were characterized by FTIR,DSC and SEM,respectively.The results show that the obtained microcapsules have spherical appearance and porous network structures.The melting point and fusion enthalpy of the microcapsules are 43.7 ℃ and 84.96 J/g,respectively,which mean the microcapsules possess a good potential as a latent heat storage material in latent heat thermal storage applications.