Fabrication of phase-change core/shell nanofibers based on a eutectic fatty acid mixture to control body temperature fluctuations

Abstract

A sustainable eutectic mixture of two fatty acids, i.e. Lauric acid (LA) and Palmitic acid (PA), was produced as Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to control body temperature fluctuations. Based on thermodynamic calculations and related experimental analyses, the mass ratio of the mixture was chosen as LA:PA = 69:31. A core-shell structure was prepared through coaxial electrospinning, so as to prevent the leakage of PCM during phase change from the solid state to liquid one. Nylon 6 covered the core as the shell of the prepared nanofiber. The optimized nanofibers were obtained with the diameter of 152.7 nm. The produced PCM possessed an onset melting temperature of 32.17 °C, which was close to the normal body temperature (i.e., 37 °C). Thermal performance of PCM in the nanofiber core-shell structure analyzed by an image processing technique showed that the sample containing PCMs exhibited enhanced thermal properties during the cooling down process.