Synthesis and Properties of Inositol Nanocapsules

Abstract

Sugar alcohols are phase−change materials with various advantages but may suffer from leakage during applications. In this study, inositol nanocapsules were synthesized at various conditions, including the amount of precursors and the time for adding the precursors. The effects of synthesis conditions on the properties of the nanocapsules were studied. The morphology, chemical composition, microstructure, phase−change characteristics and size distribution of the nanocapsules were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT−IR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a zeta potential analyzer. The results confirm that inositol was well−encapsulated by an SiO2 shell. The shell thickness increased, while the supercooling degree of the nanocapsules decreased with increasing time for adding the precursors. In order to obtain nanocapsules with good morphology and phase−change characteristics, the time for adding the precursors should increase with the amount of precursors. The nanocapsules with the best properties exhibited high melting enthalpy, encapsulation ratio and energy storage efficiency of 216.0 kJ/kg, 83.1% and 82.1%, respectively. The size of the nanocapsules was remarkably affected by the triethoxysilane (TES) amount.

Improving the Thermal and Photothermal Performances of MXene-Doped Microencapsulated Molten Salts for Medium-Temperature Solar Thermal Energy Storage

“…The chemical compositions of SiO 2 , NaNO 3 , and the microcapsules were analyzed using FT-IR, and the results are shown in Figure . The peaks detected at 475, 795, and 1100 cm –1 for SiO 2 were attributed to Si–O–Si bending vibrations, antisymmetric stretching vibrations, and symmetric stretching vibrations, respectively . For NaNO 3 , the peak at 835 cm –1 was caused by N–O symmetric stretching vibrations while the peaks at 1382 and 2435 cm –1 were caused by N–O stretching vibrations .…”

Enhanced thermal conductivity and photothermal conversion efficiency of MXene-doped sugar alcohol nanocapsules for medium-temperature solar utilization

“…As presented in Table 2, the encapsulation ratios of the nanocapsules were found to be similar to the highest reported encapsulation ratio of inositol nanocapsules in prior research. 37…”

“…As presented in Table 2, the encapsulation ratios of the nanocapsules were found to be similar to the highest reported encapsulation ratio of inositol nanocapsules in prior research. 37 The supercooling degree was reduced by 11.1 °C for NEIN and by 13.8 °C for NEIN-T compared to that of IN. The change in the supercooling degree can be attributed to the altered melting characteristics of the nanocapsules.…”