Cellulose-based phase change fibres for thermal energy storage and management applications

Abstract

Phase change fibres (PCFs) with excellent thermal energy storage abilities and suitable tuneable temperature properties are of high interest for not only providing human comfort but also reducing energy waste. However, the complex fabrication process and the fragility and low durability of PCFs are issues that must be addressed to widen the scope of their application. Herein, a facile, environmentally friendly, and low-cost strategy of photoinduced metal-free surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) was adopted to fabricate multifunctional cellulose-based PCFs, which were composed of cellulosic fibres as supporting materials and poly (hexadecyl acrylate) (PA16) as phase change working substances. Through UV irradiation, PA16 was covalently grafted to the surface-modified fibres and wrapped around them, which formed core-shell-like structures. The resulting PCFs exhibited high phase-change enthalpies (73 J/g), excellent tensile strengths (10.5 MPa), and superhydrophobicity. Furthermore, the thermal management was investigated experimentally. The results demonstrated the outstanding thermal-regulable properties. Thus, this work not only highlights the material design and preparation but also provides environmentally friendly and high-performance PCFs with great potential application prospects for a variety of fields.