Nanoencapsulated PEG 1000 and PEG 6000 as the Phase Change Material to be Applied on Cotton Fabrics

As an effort to counter the extreme temperature caused by global warming that potentially gets even worse over the coming years, nano-encapsulated phase change material (PCM) was developed in this study. Synthesized PCM nanocapsules are designed to be applied on the fabrics so that it could act as a layer that could keep the temperature stability to keep the user of that fabric still be comfortable even in an unfavorable temperature condition. In this study PEG 1000 and PEG 6000 were used as PCM because the melting temperature are of around 37 degrees C and 60 degrees C respectively, that are not too far away from human comfort zone. Nanocapsules were produced through emulsion polymerization method where PEG becomes the core material while Urea-formaldehyde (UF) acts as the shell material. Characterization results with particle size analyzer (PSA), scanning electron microscopes (SEM), and transmission electron microscopes (TEM) show that nanoencapsules were successfully synthetized. Thermal properties were evaluated using TG/DTA showing that these nanocapsules could potentially be applied on the fabric to keep temperature stability in order to maintain the user's health and comfort.