Self-assembly fabrication of microencapsulated n-octadecane with natural silk fibroin shell for thermal-regulating textiles

•Microencapsulated n-octadecane with silk fibroin shell was fabricated.•The microcapsules show high heat storage capability.•The microcapsules are good candidate for thermal-regulating textiles. [Display omitted] Novel microencapsulated n-octadecane with natural silk fibroin (SF) shell was prepared using a self-assembly method in oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion. The microstructures and chemical compositions of the resultant microcapsules were investigated by scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscope (FT-IR). SEM images demonstrated that the microcapsules presented spherical shape with a median size of 4–5 µm. FT-IR results confirmed that SF shell was successfully fabricated upon n-octadecane core. According to the DSC and TGA examinations, the resultant microcapsules exhibited good phase-change performance, high thermal-storage capability and high thermal reliability. The microencapsulated n-octadecane with SF shell synthesized in the present study would be a potential candidate for the application of thermal-regulating textiles or fibers and biological medical materials, etc.