Nanoencapsulation of binary fatty acids for high-stability phase change materials: Synergistic synthesis and thermophysical characterization

Phase change materials hold promising virtue for thermal energy storage and thermal management of electronic devices. Binary fatty acid nanoencapsulated phase change materials were synthesized with exceptional thermal performance and cycling stability for thermal energy storage and thermal management applications. Based on the sol-gel method, nanoencapsulated phase change materials were successfully prepared with binary phase change materials at different decanoic acid to lauric acid molar ratios as the core and SiO2 as the shell. The surface morphology, chemical structure, crystalline phase, phase change properties, and thermal stability of the nanoencapsulated phase change materials were systematically characterized. The prepared nanoencapsulated phase change materials appeared as regular spherical shape with uniform particle size distribution. The nanoencapsulated phase change materials mainly composed of binary phase change materials and amorphous SiO2, combined through physical interactions, demonstrating excellent compatibility between the core and shell materials. In addition, the nanoencapsulated phase change materials possessed outstanding energy storage capacity and thermal stability. After 2000 thermal cycles, the melting enthalpy of S3 remained as high as 99.3 J/g, with only a 6.8 J/g reduction, highlighting nanoencapsulated phase change materials' remarkable cycling stability. In conclusion, the nanoencapsulated phase change materials based on binary fatty acids successfully prepared emerged excellent surface morphology and thermal performance, which would provide fundamental theoretical insights and practical implications for its application in the thermal management of electronic equipments.