Abstract :
Form-stable paraffin phase change materials (PCMs), in which the paraffin as a latent heat storage material and the
polyolefins as a supporting material, have to be encapsulated because of the paraffin leakage and lipophilicity. A novel
microencapsulated PCM in which form-stable paraffin is encapsulated into inorganic silica gel polymer is prepared successfully
by in situ polymerization. A differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) is used to measure the thermal properties of the
PCM. Moreover, the Washburn equation associated with the wetting properties of powder materials, is used to test the
hydrophilic–lipophilic properties of PCM. The results indicate that the optimum microencapsulated PCM is endowed with
good hydrophilicity, and its specific enthalpy maintains 123.78 J g 1.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
