Abstract
The encapsulation ofsalt hydrate phase change materials (PCMs) in uniform microscale bodies has yetbeen reported in research due in part to the delicate relationship betweenthermal performance and water-to-salt ratios which are easily altered duringmanufacturing. Herein, core–shell composite fibers comprised of a salt hydratePCM core and a poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) shell are wet spun in a continuousprocess using a syringe pump and coaxial die. The PCM phase comprises calciumchloride hexahydrate (CaCl2·6H2O) with strontium chloride hexahydrate(SrCl2·6H2O) (3 wt%) and fumed silica(SiO2) (2 wt%) as additive, acomposition that is prepared from homogenous melt at 40 °C. 15 wt% PAN indimethylsulfoxide solvent is used to prepare the shell-forming polymer gel. PCM and polymer gel injectionrates of 10–40 mL h−1 are used tospin coaxial fibers through a coagulation bath, yielding continuousmicrotubules with diameters in the range of 850–1500 μm. Cyclic testing showsthat after 1000 cycles, melting enthalpies incurred only a 3.5% decline from 131.46 to 126.9 J g−1. Success hereovercomes several coincidental drawbacks of PCM fiber performance andmanufacturing and delivers the first example of scalable roll-to-roll PCM fiber produced by wet spinning forbuilding material applications.