Microencapsulation of Biobased Phase Change Material by Interfacial Polycondensation for Thermal Energy Storage Applications

This paper studies a new type of biobased phase change material (bio-PCM) for thermal storage applications. Novel nnicroencapsulation of natural soy wax core with polyurea shell is designed and synthesized, so as to enhance its phase-change performance. The microcapsules with diameters in the range of 1 Am to 10 tan are fabricated by interfacial polycondensation method. The morphology and thermal behavior of the microcapsules are studied by optical microscope, SEM and thermal analysis. The thermal properties of the microcapsules revealed that the content of the core material was up to about 89%, and the microcapsules had a high latent heat (ca. 88.3 J/g). The dispersed microcapsules can be used for environmentally friendly latent thermal storage applications such as energy efficient buildings and smart textile.