Preparation and Performance of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material with Paraffin Core and SiO2 Shell for High Latent Heat and Low Heat Loss by Sol–Gel Method

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCM) were prepared via sol–gel method using paraffin as heat storage core and silica as inorganic shell. The morphology feature, chemical structure, thermal properties and thermal stability of MicroPCM were characterized by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), simultaneous thermal analyzer (STA) and the thermal conductivity meter. The results indicated that MicroPCM were spherical in shape with the shell thickness in the range from 236[Formula: see text]nm to 303[Formula: see text]nm. The stirring speed and TEOS dosage were key factor on the latent heat and supercool effect of MicroPCM. The maximum latent heat of MicroPCM was 240.2[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] with the heat loss of only 0.2[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] in phase transformation when it was prepared at the stirring speed of 400[Formula: see text]r/min and TEOS dosage of 20[Formula: see text]ml. MicroPCM was a promising material for thermal energy storage (TES).