Facile Synthesis of Microencapsulated 1-Dodecanol (PCM) for Thermal Energy Storage and Thermal Buffering Ability in Embedded PVC Film
Jitendra Singh, Sumit Parvate, Prakhar Dixit, Sujay Chattopadhyay
Abstract
Microencapsulation of lauryl alcohol (1-dodecanol; mp, 22 ± 0.3 °C; melting enthalpy, 191 ± 3 J/g), a renewable phase change material (PCM), was carried out using copolymer shell [poly(styrene-co-n-butyl acrylate-co-divinylbenzene) or p(Sty-co-BA-co-DVB)] synthesized adopting emulsion polymerization. The thermal buffering ability of microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) was evaluated after embedding these capsules in a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) film. Spectroscopic (FT-IR) and morphological characterization of MEPCM capsules and MEPCM-embedded PVC film (MEPCM ePVC) confirmed the formation of core–shell microstructure with just physical interaction between PCM and shell. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements confirmed effective encapsulation of core inside the p(Sty-co-BA-co-DVB) shell, and the latent heat of melting of capsules was in the range between 94 ± 3 and 133 ± 3 J/g. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements supported the data of PCM content measured from DSC. A polarized optical microscope with hot stage established nonleaking behavior with MEPCM ePVC when exposed to 50 °C. The thermal buffering ability of the MEPCM ePVC film was demonstrated based on 41.9 and 224.8% delays in temperature change during charging and discharging steps, respectively, compared to the performance with pristine PVC film wrapped over a box of specific dimension.