%0 Journal Article
%T Microencapsulation of a PCM through membrane emulsification and nanocompression-based determination of microcapsule strength
%A Asif Rahman
%A Michelle E. Dickinson
%A Mohammed M. Farid
%J Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy
%@ 2194-1467
%D 2012
%I 
%R 10.1007/s40243-012-0004-8
%X Microencapsulating a phase-change material (PCM) has become a prominent method of creating a stable environment in which the PCM can undergo its phase change without affecting the environment in which it is used. The method of encapsulation used in this study takes advantage of a new technology known as membrane emulsification and suspension polymerization. This study investigates the encapsulation of the paraffin wax RT21  in a poly(methyl methacrylate) shell, which could be used to increase the thermal mass of a building. The objectives of the study are: (1) to encapsulate RT21  through the use of membrane emulsification and (2) to test the mechanical properties of the microcapsules under nanocompression. Membrane emulsification was carried out using Shirasu porous glass hydrophilic membranes of pore sizes 10, 10.2, and 20 ¦Ìm. Polymerization was conducted in a batch reactor with methyl methacrylate as the monomer in the temperature range 70¨C90 ¡ãC. The thermal properties (the latent heat of melting and melting temperature) of the microcapsules were tested using a differential scanning calorimeter. Particle size analysis was conducted to determine the average size distribution of the microcapsules produced. Membranes with pore sizes of 10, 10.2, and 20 ¦Ìm produced microcapsules with average diameters of 22.40 ¡À 1.47, 25.38 ¡À 0.80, and 37.50 ¡À 1.69 ¦Ìm, and average latent heats of 113.91 ¡À 12, 116.69 ¡À 1.40, and 109.89 ¡À 8.69 J/g, respectively. In order to determine the mechanical properties of these microcapsules, a modified nanoindentation compression technique was used to test the bursting force for individual microcapsules.
%K Microcapsules
%K Phase-change materials (PCM)
%K Microencapsulation of PCM (MPCM)
%K Thermal energy storage
%K Nanoindentation
%U http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40243-012-0004-8