Burst-resistant, dispersible nano-encapsulated phase-change material and methods for preparing the same

A phase-change matrix, comprising:

• a solid or liquid material, wherein the solid material or the liquid material comprises polyurethane (PU), silicone rubber, gypsum, cotton, or polyester textile,
• a burst-resistant, dispersible nano-encapsulated phase-change material dispersed therein, the burst-resistant, dispersible nano-encapsulated phase-change material has a core-shell morphology formed by phase inversion during a low energy emulsification process, comprising:
• at least one phase change core material;
• a shell comprising a reaction product of a plurality of non-phase change materials comprising at least one monomer, an initiator, a crosslinker and at least one surfactant;
• wherein the shell surrounding the at least one phase change core material and formed by the low energy emulsification followed by a polymerization of a mixture of the phase change core material and the plurality of non-phase change materials in water;
• wherein the surfactant molecules are arranged with hydrophilic heads facing outward and hydrophobic tails oriented toward the phase change core material, thereby uniformly encapsulating the phase change core material in a nanodroplet prior to the polymerization;
• wherein a mass ratio between the at least one phase change core material and the plurality of non-phase change materials is 5-15:10;
• wherein the phase change core material is in an amount of 100-500 parts by weight of the mixture, and the plurality of non-phase change materials comprises:
• 100-500 parts by weight of monomer;
• 1-5 parts by weight of initiator;
• 10-50 parts by weight of crosslinker;
• 100-500 parts by weight of surfactant;
• and
• 1000-6000 parts by weight of water;
• and
• wherein the nano-encapsulated phase-change material after said low energy emulsification and polymerization has a particle size ranging between 50 and 500 nm and a heat of fusion of 60 J/g or greater.