Electrospun Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Materials Based on Photo-Crosslinked Polyethylene Oxide.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Textile Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Phase change materials (PCMs) are crucial for thermoregulating textiles, but common organic PCMs lack molten-state stability.
• This instability limits their use in high-performance fibrous systems for thermal management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate shape-stable electrospun polyethylene oxide (PEO) fibrous mats as nanofibrous PCMs.
• To improve the molten-state shape instability of PEO using UV photo-crosslinking for enhanced thermal energy storage textiles.

Main Methods:

• Electrospinning of polyethylene oxide (PEO) to create fibrous mats.
• UV photo-crosslinking to enhance the shape stability of the PEO mats in their molten state.
• Characterization of thermal properties, morphological stability, and mechanical performance.

Main Results:

• UV-cured PEO mats exhibited remarkable latent heat (≈112 J/g) over 80 cycles.
• Demonstrated excellent morphological and shape stability above the melting point, retaining nanofibrous structure.
• Significantly enhanced mechanical properties: five-fold increase in tensile strength and strain at break.

Conclusions:

• Photo-crosslinked electrospun PEO offers high thermal properties and shape stability, eliminating leakage and the need for encapsulation.
• UV crosslinking is an effective, fast, and eco-friendly method to create advanced nanofibrous PCMs for smart thermoregulating textiles.