Preparation of silica microspheres encapsulating phase-change material by sol-gel method in O/W emulsion

J Microencapsul. 2006 Feb;23(1):3-14. doi: 10.1080/02652040500286045.

Abstract

Spherical silica microcapsules containing phase-change material (PCM) were prepared by the sol-gel method in O/W emulsion. This is the first time that inorganic encapsulation of PCM with core/shell structure has been studied. The results of this synthesis revealed that micron size (4 - 8 microm) silica microspheres encapsulating n-pentadecane can be successfully created from acidic solutions ([H+] > or = 1.44 N) by using cationic surfactants as the emulsifiers. The identification of the mechanisms for the formation of silica shell at the oil-water interface indicates that it should be the charge-controlled mechanism through S+X-I+ (positively charged surfactant-halide ion-positively charged silica species) electrostatic interactions or the reaction rates-controlled mechanism working on cationic emulsifiers.

MeSH terms

  • Drug Compounding / methods
  • Emulsions
  • Gels
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Microspheres*
  • Particle Size
  • Silicon Dioxide*

Substances

  • Emulsions
  • Gels
  • Silicon Dioxide