Fabrication and performance of microencapsulated phase change materials with hybrid shell by in situ polymerization in Pickering emulsion

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MePCMs) using melamine-formaldehyde resin/SiO₂ as shell were investigated in this paper. Organically modified SiO₂ particles were employed to stabilize Pickering emulsion, and in situ polymerization of melamine and formaldehyde was carried out to form hybrid shell. The performances of resultant MePCMs with hybrid shell were investigated comparatively with the MePCMs with polymer shell. SiO₂ particles raise the microencapsulation efficiency by improving the stability of emulsion and providing a precipitation site for melamine-formaldehyde resin. Also, the mechanical strength, thermal reliability, and anti-osmosis performance of MePCMs were improved significantly by SiO₂ particles in the shell. Our study shows that Pickering emulsion is a simple and robust template for MePCMs with polymer-inorganic hybrid shell.