Abstract
Encapsulating under-cooling materials has been a promising strategy to address the compatibility issue with a surrounding matrix. Herein, we present the synthesis of a uniform alkane-infilled capsule system that shows obvious under-cooling properties. As demonstrating examples, n-hexadecane was selected as a liquid alkane and n-eicosane as a solid in our systems as core materials via in-situ polymerization, respectively. The under-cooling properties of capsules were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, real-time optical observations with two polarizers, and molecular modeling. The n-hexadecane encapsulated capsules exhibited a large under-cooling temperature range of 20 °C between melt and crystallization, indicating potential applications for structure-transformation energy storage. In addition, molecular modeling calculations confirmed that the solid forms of n-hexadecane and n-eicosane are more stable than their liquid forms. From liquid to solid form, the n-hexadecane and n-eicosane release energies were 4.63 × 103 and 4.95 × 103 J·g−1, respectively.
Highlights
Stimuli responsive phase-change materials (PCMs) have been of great interest because of their versatile properties including optics and mechanics [1,2,3,4,5]
In our investigation, (i) the material system of the capsules such as the shell are different from previous reports; (ii) the melting-crystallizing behaviors demonstrated through real-time optical polarizer observations are reported here for the first time; (iii) we provide a generalized microcapsule system which is applicable for many possible core materials
1a,b, theisn-hexadecane-encapsulated hexadecane-encapsulated capsules show a spherical structure since there no phase change (melting capsules show a spherical structure since there is no phase change (melting point of(Figure n-hexadecane is point of n-hexadecane is 18 °C)
Summary
Stimuli (e.g., heat, mechanical force, and photo radiation) responsive phase-change materials (PCMs) have been of great interest because of their versatile properties including optics and mechanics [1,2,3,4,5]. Under-cooled materials that remain liquid at the temperature below their freezing point without turning into solid phase, and crystallize by external stimuli, will release latent heat at lower temperatures [6,7]. Until now, exploring an optimal core shell integration that possesses good compatibility, high structure strength, and a large and suitable phase-change temperature range for specific applications (e.g., around room temperature) remains a great challenge. The thermal stability and the optimal process for high-quality encapsulation have been investigated Their temperature-dependent phase-change properties and potential mechanisms are demonstrated. The presented high-performance capsule systems with good super-cooling performance and stable reversibility are expected to be applicable in many fields, including energy storage and conversion devices, thermally controllable smart mechanical components, and low-energy consumption houses
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