Nanoencapsulated phase change materials based on polyethylene glycol for creating thermoregulating cotton

Abstract

Novel nanoencapsulated phase change materials containing polyethylene glycol as the core material and urea formaldehyde as the shell material were prepared with an in situ polymerization method. The prepared nanocapsules were coated onto the cotton fabric using the pad-dry-cure method, and different ratios of nanocapsules to binder agent were evaluated. The morphology and characteristics of the polyethylene glycol and nanoencapsulated phase change materials were measured using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The nanocapsules were found to have a regular spherical shape with a size of 141 nm. The thermal behavior of the textile fabrics was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetry analysis. The tensile strength, water absorption and abrasion resistance of the treated and untreated fabrics were also studied. The differential scanning calorimetry results found that the treated fabrics had latent heat storage energy of 0.198, 0.213 and 0.219 J/g, where the measurement was related to the nanocapsules/binder ratio. The thermal gravimetry analysis results showed that the treated fabric with a nanocapsules/binder agent ratio of 3:3 had good thermal stability.