Research Progress on Performance Enhancement Strategies of Phase Change Cold Storage Materials in Cold Chain Logistics

WANG Yuqi; XIONG Guangquan; WANG Lan; SHI Liu; CHEN Sheng; WU Wenjin; SHEN Wangyang; GUO Xiaojia

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.11.012

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (11) : 116-128. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.11.012

Advanced Materials

Research Progress on Performance Enhancement Strategies of Phase Change Cold Storage Materials in Cold Chain Logistics

WANG Yuqi^1,2,3,4, XIONG Guangquan^1,2,3, WANG Lan^1,2,3, SHI Liu^1,2,3, CHEN Sheng^1,2,3, WU Wenjin^1,2,3, SHEN Wangyang⁴, GUO Xiaojia^1,2,3*

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Abstract

To reduce the reliance of cold chain logistics on active refrigeration systems and mitigate the quality loss of transported products caused by temperature fluctuations, the work aims to systematically review the key performance defects of phase change cold storage materials and the corresponding performance enhancement strategies, providing a theoretical basis for the development of efficient, stable cold storage materials suitable for different temperature zones. The basic characteristics of organic, inorganic and composite phase change materials were firstly classified and reviewed. Focusing on the shortcomings of phase change cold storage materials in cold energy storage, heat transfer, leakage prevention, supercooling and phase separation, the performance enhancement methods and their mechanisms were emphatically analyzed, including the addition of nanoparticles, eutectic system design, gel network construction, microencapsulation, porous carrier loading, nucleating agent addition, and thickening agent compounding. It is concluded that a single phase change material can hardly meet the requirements of high latent heat, high thermal conductivity, leakage prevention, low supercooling and long-term cycling stability simultaneously, while composite design can significantly improve the overall performance of phase change cold storage materials.

Key words

phase change cold storage material / cold chain logistics / latent heat of phase change / thermal conductivity / supercooling / cycling stability

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WANG Yuqi, XIONG Guangquan, WANG Lan, SHI Liu, CHEN Sheng, WU Wenjin, SHEN Wangyang, GUO Xiaojia. Research Progress on Performance Enhancement Strategies of Phase Change Cold Storage Materials in Cold Chain Logistics[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2026, 47(11): 116-128 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.11.012

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