Composed of polystyrene (PS) modified by high thermal conductivity silica (SiO2) as shell
and n-tetradecane (Tet) as core
a novel PS-SiO2 @ Tet composite nano-encapsulated phase change material (CNEPCM) for cold thermal energy storage was synthesized by mini-emulsion in-situ polymerization. The morphology
chemical structure and thermal performance of CNEPCM were characterized with particle size analyzer
transmission electron microscope (TEM)
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG)
respectively. Coefficient of thermal conductivity
specific heat capacity
viscosity and mechanical stability of the synthesized latex were tested. The synthesized CNEPCM with well-defined spherical core-shell structure and z-average particle size of 64.9 nm had high latent heat capacity (Tm 2.13℃
83.38 J·g-1) and good thermal stability. Compared with the unmodified emulsion
coefficient of thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of the synthesized latex were improved as a result of the presence of high thermal conductivity silica
indicating a promising potential functional thermal fluid for cold thermal energy storage.