A review on the fabrication methods for structurally stabilised composite phase change materials and their impacts on the properties of materials

This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the latest work on structurally stabilised composite phase change materials (SSCPCMs) for thermal energy storage, with a specific focus on the manufacturing technologies and the associated skills. SSCPCMs have attracted significant attention in recent years given their advantages of small volume changes, reduced phase segregation and corrosion, and improved thermal conductivity. The review covers SSCPCMs with different types of matrices, including ceramic, carbonic, metallic, and polymeric. Unlike previous reviews, this work pays a specific focus on the fabrication methods and the impact of preparation parameters on the properties of SSCPCMs, aimed to understand the current knowledge gap in the manufacturing processes and to promote the scale-up production of the SSCPCMs. To this end, knowledge databases on key preparation parameters were established from literature for three manufacturing routes: impregnation, mix-sintering, and hot-melt extrusion. Such databases provide a guidance for academic researchers and engineering practitioners to select optimal fabrication parameters for their designed SSCPCMs. The work also leads to the establishment of relationships between the fabrication parameters and material performances based on the databases. Furthermore, the manufacturing readiness level of various energy storage technologies were reviewed, which is an important indicator to evaluate the manufacturing maturity.