Fabrication of Sugar Alcohol Microcapsules using Cyanoacrylate for Thermal Storage

Abstract

A thermal storage technique using phase-change materials has attracted considerable attention as a means of reducing energy consumption and protecting the environment against global warming. Sugar alcohol, a phase-change material, can be used for thermal storage; it has a higher thermal storage capacity and a high phase-change temperature than those of its widely used counterpart, paraffin. Micro-encapsulation of phase-change-materials increases both the surface area per unit volume and the transportability of the particles in the form of a slurry or emulsions. However, conventional methods of micro-encapsulation are associated with some problems such as long synthesis times and complex processes. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a simple and quick fabrication process for sugar alcohol microcapsules by mixing a sugar alcohol/oil emulsion and cyanoacrylate/oil emulsion. We also report on the thermal properties of sugar alcohol microcapsules.