Development of core-sheath phase change fibres incorporated with PEG2000 for thermoregulation applications

Abstract

The resilience of urban infrastructures in the face of climate challenges has become a public concern, with direct impacts on the well-being of citizens due to frequent environmental, economic and social influences. Asphalt pavements, widely present in urban centres, contribute negatively to the Urban Heat Islands (UHI) effect, which is responsible for slowly absorbing and releasing heat due to their dark surfaces. The incorporation of phase change materials (PCM) into these asphalt mixtures, as highlighted in the literature, has emerged as an effective solution to improve thermoregulation with the aim of mitigating problems associated with UHI. This topic is directly related to the objectives SDG9, SDG11, and SDG12 of the United Nations (UN), associated with resilient and sustainable cities, and represents a considerable challenge that must be addressed. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the ideal composition of PCFs comprising a cellulose acetate sheath (CA, Mn 30,000 and 50,000) and a polyethene glycol (PEG) 2000 core as PCM, produced by the wet spinning method. The presence and influence of PEG 2000 inside PCFs were investigated morphologically, chemically and thermally using bright-field microscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Using a bright-field microscope, it was possible to observe the difference between the sheath and the core of the PCFs and revealed that the morphologies of the PCFs depend on the ejection speed of PEG 2000. TGA confirmed the capability of PCFs to resist high temperatures. DSC confirmed the phase change of PEG 2000, as its peaks with melting points were close to those of virgin PEG 2000, with a slight change caused by the protective CA sheath. Therefore, the results revealed a successful Production of PCFs through wet spinning confirming the compatibility of the phase change temperature of PEG 2000 with the application to infrastructures subjected to moderate temperature between 50-60 °C.