Preparation of the PET-based form-stable phase change composite fibers

Form-stable phase change fibers based on binary fatty acid eutectic/PET composites in which the five binary fatty acid eutectics serve as solid-liquid phase change material and PET acts as a supporting material,were successfully fabricated through electrospinning.The effects of the types of the binary fatty acid eutectics on morphological structures,thermal energy storage properties and tensile properties of the composite phase change fibers were studied.The results revealed that form-stable phase change composite fibers possessed the wrinkled surfaces morphologies with fiber diameters significantly larger than that of neat PET fibers.Thermal analysis results showed that the melting temperatures and enthalpies of the composite fibers varied with the types of binary fatty acid eutectics.The lowest and highest melting temperatures were 33.23 and 52.82℃,respectively,whilst the lowest and highest enthalpies were 62.75 and 94.76kJ/kg,respectively.The tensile testing results indicated that the tensile strength of the composite phase change fibers decreased,while the elongation at break of the composite fibers increased due to the loading of the binary fatty acid eutectic.