The energy sector is one of the fields of interest for different nations around the world. Due to the current fossil fuel crisis, the scientific community develops new energy-saving experiences to address this concern. Buildings are one of the elements of higher energy consumption, so the generation of knowledge and technological development may offer solutions to this energy demand, which are more than welcome. Phase change materials (PCMs) included in building elements such as wall panels, blocks, panels or coatings, for heating and cooling applications have been shown, when heating, to increase the heat storage capacity by absorbing heat as latent heat. Therefore, the use of latent heat storage systems using phase change materials (PCMs) has been investigated within the last two decades. In the present review, the macro and micro encapsulation methods for construction materials are reviewed, the former being the most viable method of inclusion of PCMs in construction elements. In addition, based on the analysis of the existing papers on the encapsulation process of PCMs, the importance to pay more attention to the bio-based PCMs is shown, since more research is needed to process such PCMs. To determine its thermophysical and mechanical behavior at the micro and macro levels, in order to see the feasibility of substituting petroleum-based PCMs with a more environmentally friendly bio-based one, a section devoted to the excellent PCM with lightweight aggregate (PCM-LWA concrete) is presented due to the lack of description given in other reviews.

Inorganic alumino-silicates polymer or geopolymers are amorphous materials with a chemical composition similar to zeolites and an empirical overall chemical formula: M n[−(SiO2) z−AlO2] n · wH2O...

Corrosion is one of the main problems in materials science that represents a high cost to the world economy. Rare earth elements have attracted attention as corrosion inhibitors due to their excellent results and being environmentally friendly. Although its mechanism of action continues to be studied, the most accepted theory indicates that corrosion inhibition is based on the formation of insoluble oxides/hydroxides and requires specific conditions to be effective, which represents a problem in some applications. In recent years, various lanthanide salts have been investigated, their corrosion protection mechanism being widely reported, and the operation principle is the same for all rare earth elements. Cerium is the element that has been most extensively investigated among them, mainly for its abundance, low cost, favorable results attributed to the formation of oxides/hydroxides that block cathodic sites, and, in recent years, to developing coatings capable of self-healing. Despite not having reached extensive applications in real cases of protection against corrosion, the prospects of rare earth salts as corrosion inhibitors are promising and appear as a viable option for replacing processes involving chromium.