Elastic silicone encapsulation of n-hexadecyl bromide by microfluidic approach as novel microencapsulated phase change materials

• n-Hexadecyl bromide was encapsuled in elastic silicone shell.
• The surfaces of microcapsules were smooth and the cross sections were compact.
• Latent heat of microcapsules was 76.35 J g−1.
• The microencapsulation ratio was 49 wt.%.
• The microcapsules had good thermal stability.

The elastic silicone/n-hexadecyl bromide microcapsules were prepared as novel microencapsulated phase change materials by microfluidic approach with the co-flowing channels, where the double oil1-in-oil2-in-water (O1/O2/W) droplets with a core–shell geometry were fabricated. The thermal characterizations of the microcapsules were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The DSC results showed that the microcapsules had good energy storage capacity with melting and freezing enthalpies 76.35 J g−1 and 78.67 J g−1, respectively. The TGA investigation showed that the microcapsules had good thermal stability. The surfaces of microcapsules were smooth and the cross sections were compact from the results of optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optical microscope showed that the silicone shell can provide expansion place due to its elastic property. Therefore, the silicone/n-hexadecyl bromide microcapsules showed good potential as thermal regulating textile and thermal insulation materials.