Crosslinking of the electrospun polyethylene glycol/cellulose acetate composite fibers as shape-stabilized phase change materials

In a previous study, polyethylene glycol/cellulose acetate (PEG/CA) composite ultrafine fibers have been prepared by electrospinning. In order to improve their water-resistant ability and thermal stability for potential thermal storage applications, in this study, the electrospun PEG/CA fibers were crosslinked by using toluene-2, 4-diisocyanate (TDI). The morphology and thermal properties of the crosslinked fibers were investigated via SEM, DSC and TG, respectively. The results showed that the fibrous morphology of the crosslinked fibers was well preserved even after 24 h immersing in deionized water. Meanwhile, the crosslinking also led to an improvement on the thermal stability, but brought a decrease of the enthalpy compared with the original electrospun fibers. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.