Chitosan composite microencapsulated comb-like polymeric phase change material via coacervation microencapsulation

Abstract

In order to reduce environmental pollution during microencapsulating phase change materials and expand their applications as well, a novel eco-friendly microencapsulated/nanoencapsulated phase change materials (Micro/NanoPCMs) and the corresponding encapsulation method were proposed and discussed in this study, where the natural chitosan and side-chain crystallizable comb-like polymer were selected as shell material and core material, respectively. During the encapsulating process via coacervation, the effects of different core-shell ratios on the morphology and thermal storage properties of microcapsules were discussed. FE-SEM and TEM was employed to investigate the morphology and microstructure of the microcapsules. The thermodynamics performance of microcapsules was studied using TGA and DSC. The encapsulation efficiency of microcapsules ranged from 49.82% to 68.99%, and the thermal stability temperature of microcapsules was measured to be 243.2 °C. The fabrication process where natural raw materials were employed and showing promising applications in such fields as medical treatment.

Keywords: Chitosan; Coacervation; Comb-like polymer; Microcapsule; Phase change material.