Particle Technology in the Formulation and Fabrication of Thermal Energy Storage Materials 

This article reviews the state of the art of the formulation and fabrication of sensible, latent, and thermochemical thermal energy storage (TES) materials with special focus on the role of particle technology in enhancing the performance of these materials. Molten salt-based sensible TES materials have been intensively studied, particularly the use of doped nanoparticles for enhancing specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. For latent TES, the inclusion of property enhancers is among the most effective approaches to address the low thermal conductivity and supercooling issues of phase change materials (PCMs), whereas the encapsulation of PCMs and structurally stabilized composite PCMs are the favorable methods to address leakage and chemical incompatibility challenges. Thermochemical TES materials are often incorporated with an inert or an active host matrix for structural stabilization.