A review of microencapsulation methods of phase change materials (PCMs) as a thermal energy storage (TES) medium

Microencapsulation of phase change materials (PCMs) is an effective way of enhancing their thermal conductivity and preventing possible interaction with the surrounding and leakage during the melting process, where there is no complete overview of the several methods and techniques for microencapsulation of different kinds of PCMs that leads to microcapsules with different morphology, structure, and thermal properties. In this paper, microencapsulation methods are perused and classified into three categories, i.e. physical, physic-chemical, and chemical methods. It summarizes the techniques used for microencapsulation of PCMs and hence provides a useful tool for the researchers working in this area. Among all the microencapsulation methods, the most common methods described in the literature for the production of microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCMs) are interfacial polymerization, suspension polymerization, coacervation, emulsion polymerization, and spray drying. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.