Preparation and Performance of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material with Paraffin Core and SiO2 Shell for High Latent Heat and Low Heat Loss by Sol–Gel Method.

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCM) were prepared via sol–gel method using paraffin as heat storage core and silica as inorganic shell. The morphology feature, chemical structure, thermal properties and thermal stability of MicroPCM were characterized by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), simultaneous thermal analyzer (STA) and the thermal conductivity meter. The results indicated that MicroPCM were spherical in shape with the shell thickness in the range from 236 nm to 303 nm. The stirring speed and TEOS dosage were key factor on the latent heat and supercool effect of MicroPCM. The maximum latent heat of MicroPCM was 240.2 J ⋅ g − 1 with the heat loss of only 0.2 J ⋅ g − 1 in phase transformation when it was prepared at the stirring speed of 400 r/min and TEOS dosage of 20 ml. MicroPCM was a promising material for thermal energy storage (TES). A series of novel MicroPCM with good thermal properties was prepared by sol–gel method using paraffin as the heat storage core material and silica as the inorganic shell material by controlling the stirring speed and adjusting TEOS dosage. MicroPCM was spherical in shape with the shell thickness in the range between 230 nm and 300 nm. The result indicated that MicroPCM had a high latent heat with a range from 229 to 240.2 J·g^–1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]