Fabrication and Characterization of Nanoencapsulated Stearic-acid/SiO2 Phase Change Material

A novel nanoencapsulated shape-stabilized phase change material (PCM) with stearic acid as the core and SiO2 as the shell was synthesized by a two-step procedure, in which SiO2 hollow nanospheres were prepared firstly by a template-assisted method and stearic acid was then embedded in SiO2 hollow nanospheres based on balance principle of fluid in capillary. The morphology, structure and thermal storage property of the sample were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimeter. The results suggest that the as-obtained nanocapsules were regular spheres with diameters around 220 nm, and it is possible to enhance the heat transfer and repress the super-cooling phenomenon by designing the nanoencapsulated PCMs with organic PCMs as cores and inorganic materials as shells.