Synthesis and Characteristics of Microencapsulated Decanol with TiO2 Shell as Composites for Cold Energy Storage

Abstract

A novel microencapsulated phase change materials for cold energy storage was synthesised through sol-gel means using decanol as phase change material and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as encapsulated material. The micromorphology and composition of microcapsules were observed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), Fourier transformation infrared spectrometer (FT-IR).Using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) thermal properties of microcapsules were characterized. Results of FE-SEM and FT-IR indicated that micro sized decanol droplets were encapsulated with TiO₂ to form the well-developed core-shell structure, which was only physical coating between them. Furthermore, the chemical and thermal stability of the microcapsules were improved and the inflammability of the microcapsules was lowered using TiO₂ as shell material. The DSC result of the desirable ones melt at 3.87 ℃ with a latent melting enthalpy of 61.12 J·g^-1 and solidified at – 1.32 ℃ with a latent solidification enthalpy of 59.54 J·g^-1. In general, the prepared microcapsules have potential for cold energy storage.