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Updated: Apr 8, 2026

Synthesis and Characterization of Multi-Modal Phase-Change Porphyrin Droplets
Published on: October 15, 2021
New polyurethane/docosane microcapsules as phase-change materials for thermal energy storage
Paula Felix De Castro1, Dmitry G Shchukin2
1Chemistry Department, Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, The University of Liverpool, Chadwick Building, Peach Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZF (UK). P.Felix-De-Castro@liverpool.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Polyurethane microcapsules were prepared by mini-emulsion interfacial polymerization for encapsulation of phase-change material (n-docosane) for energy storage. Three steps were followed with the aim to optimize synthesis conditions of the microcapsules. First, polyurethane microcapsules based on silicone oil core as an inert template with different silicone oil/poly(ethylene glycol)/4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate wt % ratio were synthesized. The surface morphology of the capsules was analyzed by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and the chemical nature of the shell was monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Capsules with the silicone oil/poly(ethylene glycol)/4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate 10/20/20 wt % ratio showed the best morphological features and shell stability with average particle size about 4 μm, and were selected for the microencapsulation of the n-docosane. In the second stage, half of the composition of silicone oil was replaced with n-docosane and, finally, the whole silicone oil content was replaced with docosane following the same synthetic procedure used for silicone oil containing capsules. Thermal and cycling stability of the capsules were investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and the phase-change behavior was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
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