Phase change materials, their synthesis and application in textiles—a review

Phase change materials (PCMs) are widely being used in thermal energy storage systems for solar engineering, building materials, heat pumps, spacecraft, and in textile field especially smart and technical textiles. There are large numbers of organic and inorganic PCMs that possess a wide range of melting and solidifying temperature which attracts researcher’s attention for their applications in different fields. This review paper summarizes the investigation and analysis of the available organic and inorganic PCMs, different encapsulating techniques, characterization techniques, incorporation into fiber and pad application on textiles with practical applications in the field of smart textiles.