Synthesis and Properties of Inositol Nanocapsules

Sugar alcohols are phase-change materials with various advantages but may suffer from leakage during applications. In this study, inositol nanocapsules were synthesized at various conditions, including the amount of precursors and the time for adding the precursors. The effects of synthesis conditions on the properties of the nanocapsules were studied. The morphology, chemical composition, microstructure, phase-change characteristics and size distribution of the nanocapsules were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a zeta potential analyzer. The results confirm that inositol was well-encapsulated by an SiO₂ shell. The shell thickness increased, while the supercooling degree of the nanocapsules decreased with increasing time for adding the precursors. In order to obtain nanocapsules with good morphology and phase-change characteristics, the time for adding the precursors should increase with the amount of precursors. The nanocapsules with the best properties exhibited high melting enthalpy, encapsulation ratio and energy storage efficiency of 216.0 kJ/kg, 83.1% and 82.1%, respectively. The size of the nanocapsules was remarkably affected by the triethoxysilane (TES) amount.