Next-Generation Phase Change Materials for Sustainable Energy Applications
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "J1: Heat and Mass Transfer".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2026 | Viewed by 16
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Background Introduction
Phase change materials (PCMs) have become indispensable assets in modern thermal-energy systems due to their ability to store and release large amounts of latent heat at nearly constant temperature. Their applications continue to expand across renewable energy technologies, including solar thermal collectors, photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) systems, hybrid PV–CPV configurations, solar desalination units, building thermal management, industrial waste-heat recovery, and thermal buffering for energy-intensive processes. Rapid progress in the design of composite PCMs, nano-enhanced formulations, encapsulation strategies, and thermally conductive frameworks has significantly improved thermal conductivity, cyclic stability, and overall energy density. At the same time, global demand for cost-effective and environmentally sustainable energy-storage solutions has accelerated research into bio-based PCMs, waste-derived materials, and scalable manufacturing methods. These advances are positioning next-generation PCMs as critical enablers of dispatchable, high-efficiency renewable energy systems.
Aim and Scope
This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances in the materials science, design, modelling, characterization, and system-level integration of next-generation phase change materials for sustainable energy applications. Contributions that address thermal, mechanical, chemical, and economic aspects of PCM development, as well as innovative integration strategies that enhance the performance and reliability of solar, thermal, and hybrid renewable energy technologies, are invited.
Detailed Topics of Interest
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Development and characterization of organic, inorganic, composite, nano-enhanced, and bio-based PCMs;
- Encapsulation technologies, shell materials, leakage-prevention methods, and long-term cyclic stability;
- High-conductivity PCM structures: metal foams, carbon-based scaffolds, and additively manufactured architectures;
- PCM integration into solar thermal collectors, PV/T systems, CPV cooling systems, and hybrid renewable energy platforms;
- PCM-assisted desalination, thermal buffering, and freshwater-production systems;
- Thermal modelling, finite-element analysis, and multi-physics simulation of PCM behaviour;
- Optimization of melting/solidification kinetics and heat transfer enhancement techniques;
- System-level techno-economic, environmental, and life-cycle assessments of PCM-enabled energy systems;
- Smart and adaptive PCMs, thermochromic materials, shape-stabilized PCMs, and multifunctional thermal-storage materials;
- Applications in buildings, district heating, industrial waste-heat recovery, and low-carbon thermal management.
Prof. Dr. Mahendran Samykano
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- phase change materials (PCMs)
- latent heat thermal energy storage
- nano-enhanced PCMs
- composite PCMs
- encapsulation techniques
- thermal conductivity enhancement
- solar thermal systems
- photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) systems
- concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) cooling
- solar desalination
- waste-derived thermal storage materials
- melting/solidification modelling
- heat-transfer enhancement
- techno-economic assessment
- sustainable energy materials
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