Cellulose aerogel-based phase change materials for thermal energy storage: Advances and future perspectives

Abstract

Cellulose aerogel-based phase change materials (CA-PCMs) combine the latent heat storage capability of phase change materials (PCMs) with the hierarchical porous architecture, low density, and structural stability of cellulose aerogels (CA), providing a promising platform for sustainable thermal energy storage. This review critically examines recent advances in CA-PCMs from a materials-by-design perspective by correlating fabrication strategies, thermophysical properties, and structure-property-performance relationships. A comparative assessment of impregnation, in situ polymerization, encapsulation, and direct mixing establishes the influence of fabrication route on PCM loading, latent heat retention, thermal conductivity, mechanical stability, and cycling durability. Furthermore, graphene, MXene-, CNT-, polymer, and other cellulose-based hybrid systems are critically compared, demonstrating that conductive nanofillers can enhance thermal conductivity by 50-200% while introducing important trade-offs between heat transfer, latent heat storage, multifunctionality, and manufacturing scalability. Unlike previous reviews, this work integrates comparative performance analysis, commercialization perspectives, and emerging computational approaches into a unified materials design strategy for rational CA-PCM development. Finally, the review identifies key challenges, including long-term durability, scalable manufacturing, sustainable processing, and multifunctional integration, and proposes a research road-map to accelerate the industrial translation of next-generation CA-PCMs.