Microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCMs) are excellent materials for the storage of thermal energy, and through their dispersal into a carrier fluid, microencapsulated phase change slurries (MPCS) can be prepared. These slurries exhibit both excellent thermal energy storage and heat transfer properties. A series of MPCS were prepared for this research and subsequently tested for thermal conductivity and specific heat. Other methods of quantification include DSC, TGA, rheometry, and infrared ...
In this paper, researchers synthesized monodispersed polystyrene spheres (PS), of a desired size. Generally, PS have a typical diameter ranging from 180 nm to 900 nm. However, the researchers in this study were able to reduce the sphere size, by increasing the polyvinylpyrolidone/styrene weight ratio. The PS were used as models, in order to fabricate hollow silica nanospheres (HSNSs), for thermal insulation applications. With modifications to this silica coating process, HSNSs ...