Developing microencapsulated 12‐hydroxystearic acid (HSA) for phase change material use

Phase change materials (PCM) have an increasingly more important role as a thermal energy storage (TES) media. However, leakage problem of PCM causes limitation during their integration in TES systems. Therefore, the encapsulation of PCMs is attracting research interest to extend usage of PCMs in real TES applications in recent years. In this study, hydroxystearic acid (HSA) was encapsulated with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and different PMMA comonomer shells via emulsion polymerization method for the first time in literature. HSA with high melting temperature range (74–78°C) can widen the scope of using PCMs, and the encapsulated form can make it more versatile. The chemical structures, morphologies, and thermophysical properties of capsules were determined by FT‐IR, SEM, DSC, TGA, and thermal infrared camera. Among the produced HSA capsule candidates, PMMA‐HEMA is the most promising with latent heat of 48.5 J/g with melting range of 47 to 85°C. SEM analysis indicated that the capsules have spherical shape with compact surface at nano‐micro (100–440 nm) size range; however, some capsules exhibited agglomeration.     

Self-healing epoxy coatings loaded with inhibitor-containing polyelectrolyte nanocapsules

The self-healing polymer coatings containing organic corrosion inhibitors are intensively investigated as an alternative for highly toxic Cr(VI)-based systems. Protective self-healing coatings are realized by embedding “smart” containers, able to release a corrosion inhibitor under some specific conditions occurring when the corrosion process starts (e.g. on pH change) or upon a mechanical damage. In this study a system with the corrosion inhibitors (2-methylbenzothiazole (BT) and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT)) encapsulated inside the polyelectrolyte nanocapsules embedded in the water-based epoxy coatings is tested for its self-healing performance. The nanocontainers were prepared by the electrostatic adsorption of polyelectrolytes directly on the oil phase drops containing the inhibiting agent. The results for BT emulsion droplets and the mixture of BT and MBT encapsulated by docusate sodium salt/poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (AOT/PDADMAC) and docusate sodium salt/poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/poly(styrene sulfonate) (AOT/PDADMAC/PSS) surface complexes are presented.The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to confirm the release of the inhibitor from the scratched coating. The influence of the nanocapsules on the barrier properties and self-healing performance of the epoxy coatings were tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in NaCl solution, the salt spray test (SST) according to ISO9227 and filiform corrosion test (FFT) according to EN ISO 3665. Potential blistering was rated according to EN ISO 4628-2.     

Preparation of polymeric nanocapsules via nano-sized poly(methoxydiethyleneglycol methacrylate) colloidal templates

Polymeric nanocapsules are attractive devices with a number of potential applications. In the present contribution we describe a method for nanocapsule preparation which is based on the formation of nanosized templates (mesoglobules, prepared from thermo-responsive poly(methoxydiethyleneglycol methacrylate)s, PDEGMA). These mesoglobules were coated with a cross-linked shell formed by pseudo-seeded radical polymerization of either N-isopropylacrylamide or 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate in the presence of a cross-linking agent. Dissolution and removal of templates were achieved by extensive dialysis against water at temperatures below the LCST of PDEGMA. The obtained nanocapsules were visualized by transmission electron microscopy and their dimensions were determined by dynamic light scattering. The differences in the morphology of the nanocapsules were attributed to the different structures of the cross-linked membranes.     

Hydroxyl end-functionalized poly(2-isopropyl oxazoline)s used as nano-sized colloidal templates for preparation of hollow polymeric nanocapsules

Hollow polymeric nanocapsules with a thermosensitive membrane are prepared and characterized. They reversibly change their dimensions during temperature variations below and above the transition of the membrane. The nanocapsules were prepared by three steps: (i) well-defined mesoglobules prepared from an LCST polymer (hydroxyl end functionalized poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline), PiPOZ-OH) were coated with a thermo-sensitive cross-linked shell formed via seeded radical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and N,N′-bis-methylene acrylamide to produce core–shell nanoparticles (ii), which were subjected to extensive dialysis below the LCSTs of both the core-forming PiPOZ-OH and shell-forming PNIPAM to remove the core (iii). The use of a core-forming polymer of low molecular weight (<8900 g mol⁻¹), narrow dispersity (<1.15) and relatively low T_g (52–68 °C) is beneficial as far as the effectiveness of the removal of the cores is concerned. The inherent immiscibility between PiPOZ-OH and PNIPAM as well as the specific raspberry-like structure of the core–shell particles also contributed for enhancement of the core removal effectiveness.     

Polyimine Container Molecules and Nanocapsules

The field of dynamic covalent nanocapsule synthesis is very young, and most contributions to the development of reliable approaches for the assembly of dynamic covalent capsules have been made during the past five years. In 1991, Quan and Cram published the first Schiff base molecular container compound. Over the past six years, a large number of multi-component polyimine hemicarcerand and polyhedron syntheses have been developed. This review will focus primarily on recent achievements in the area of pure Schiff base nanocapsules and highlight different synthetic approaches and design strategies, as well as first applications of these capsules in molecular recognition, gas storage, and gas separation.     

一种新型有机-无机杂化微胶囊及其渗透性

通过细乳液聚合,在正辛烷液滴外包覆一层苯乙烯与甲基丙烯酸-3-三甲氧基硅丙酯（MPS）的共聚物,得到一种新型有机-无机杂化纳米微胶囊.用透射电镜（TEM）和原子力显微镜（AFM）表征了其形态;用气体吸附仪（BET）研究了其微观结构,发现其具有多孔结构.利用多孔介质中的孔道扩散理论对其渗透过程进行建模,微胶囊渗透过程中的主体扩散系数主要由其孔隙率和曲折因子决定.用紫外可见分光光度计（UV）研究了微胶囊在不同体系中的渗透动力学,计算得到了各种条件下渗透的主体扩散系数和曲折因子,发现溶质的扩散速率随微胶囊中MPS用量增加造成的孔隙率增大而增加;曲折因子在甲酚红-甲醇体系中比在蒽-四氢呋喃体系中小,且基本不随微胶囊中MPS用量变化,与用孔道扩散理论分析结果一致.用红外光谱（IR）证实了示踪剂确实装载进入了微胶囊,但示踪剂的释放速率比装载速率小得多,且主体扩散系数随MPS用量变化不大.