Antiicing and Flame Retardant n‐Tetradecane@Melamine‐Formaldehyde‐Boric Acid Microcapsules as a New Additive for Cement Mortar

ABSTRACT Microencapsulated phase change materials (mPCMs) have emerged as promising functional additives for improving the thermal performance of cement‐based materials. In this study, n‐tetradecane was successfully encapsulated within a melamine‐formaldehyde‐boric acid (MFB) shell to develop multifunctional microcapsules for thermal energy storage and anti‐icing applications in cement mortars. The synthesized microcapsules were comprehensively characterized in terms of their chemical structure, morphology, particle size distribution, thermal properties, thermal reliability, and combustion behavior. Subsequently, cement mortars containing 5, 10 and 15 wt.% mPCMs were prepared, and their workability, physical properties, ultrasonic pulse velocity, mechanical performance, thermal regulation capability, and snow/ice melting performance were systematically evaluated. The results demonstrated that the developed microcapsules possessed excellent thermal stability and retained their latent heat storage capacity after repeated thermal cycling. Although the incorporation of mPCMs slightly reduced the mechanical properties of the mortars due to the lower stiffness of the microcapsules, it significantly improved their thermal regulation performance by delaying temperature variation and enhancing snow/ice melting behavior. SEM observations confirmed that most microcapsules remained structurally intact and were well distributed within the cement matrix after the mixing process. These findings demonstrate that n‐tetradecane@MFB microcapsules are promising multifunctional additives for producing thermally efficient and anti‐icing cementitious materials.