EFFECT OF RESORCINOL ON THE SYNTHESIS AND PERFORMANCE OF MICROENCAPSULATED PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS FOR THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

This study aims to improve microcapsules' thermal ability to store latent heat by varying the amount of resorcinol used as a crosslinking agent, which ranges from 0% to 10% by weight.The phase change material dimethyl adipate was microencapsulated using urea-formaldehyde as shell material through an in-situ polymerization process.The investigation evaluated the structural, morphological, and thermal properties of microcapsules using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis.The results show that using a 10% w/w crosslinker produced microcapsules with a high melting enthalpy value of 85 J/g and a microencapsulation efficiency of 52.95%.The morphology of the prepared microcapsules was found to exhibit irregular