WANG Chang’an ^{1, 2}, XIA Yuting ², LIU Xin ¹, WANG Liang ¹, CHEN Fenglan ¹, TIE Shengnian ¹
(1. New Energy (Photovoltaic) Industry Research Center, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China; 2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

Abstract: Glauber’s salt (Na₂SO₄·10H₂O), as inorganic hydrated salt-based phase change materials (PCMs), with easy-to-obtain raw materials and high energy storage density, has the advantages of high energy storage density and a phase change temperature close to the ambient temperature, etc. However, due to the problems of large supercooling, serious phase delamination, easy leakage and low thermal conductivity, large-scale applications of Glauber’s salt based PCMs have been limited. This review is aimed to describe the current modification methods to address the problems of subcooling and phase separation, summarize the effects of various types of encapsulations, and review the progress of research on thermal conductivity enhancement to improve heat storage efficiency. Additionally, the status of practical applications of Glauber’s salt based PCMs was discussed, with an outlook on the future direction of research, to provide a reference for the development of highly stable, efficiently encapsulated, high thermally conductive Glauber’s salt based PCMs.
Key words: Glauber’s salt; phase change energy storage; overcooling; phase separation occurring; encapsulation; thermal conductivity enhancement