Preparation and Characterization of Hexadecane Microcapsule Phase Change Materials by In Situ Polymerization

Abstract

Hexadecane microcapsule phase change materials were prepared by the in-situ polymerization method using hexadecane as core materials, urea-formaldehyde resin and urea-formaldehyde resin modified with melamine as shell materials respectively. Effect of melamine on the properties of microcapsules was studied by FTIR, biomicroscopy (UBM), TGA and HPLC. The influences of system concentration, agitation speed and mass ratio of wall to core were also investigated. The results indicated that hexadecane was successfully coated by the two types of shell materials. The addition of melamine into the urea-formaldehyde resin microcapsule reduced microcapsule particle size and microencapsulation efficiency. The influences of factors such as system concentration, agitation speed and mass ratio of wall to core to different wall materials microcapsules presented different variety trends of the microcapsule particle size.