Transparent and Flexible Thermal Insulation Window Material

Feng Hu; Lu An; Changning Li; Jun Liu; Guibin Ma; Yong Hu; Yulong Huang; Yuzi Liu; Thomas Thundat; Shenqiang Ren

Cell Reports Physical Science (Aug 2020)

Transparent and Flexible Thermal Insulation Window Material

Feng Hu,
Lu An,
Changning Li,
Jun Liu,
Guibin Ma,
Yong Hu,
Yulong Huang,
Yuzi Liu,
Thomas Thundat,
Shenqiang Ren

Affiliations

Feng Hu: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Lu An: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Changning Li: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Jun Liu: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Guibin Ma: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Yong Hu: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Yulong Huang: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Yuzi Liu: Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
Thomas Thundat: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA; Research and Education in Energy, Environment, & Water Institute, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Shenqiang Ren: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA; Research and Education in Energy, Environment, & Water Institute, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA; Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 1, no. 8
p. 100140

Abstract

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Summary: Transparent windows that insulate against infrared light and heat entering buildings hold the promise of reducing energy consumption. However, a long-standing challenge for energy-saving window materials is to concurrently achieve a large tuning of refractive index, broad transmission modulation, and near-room-temperature phase transition. Here, we report the insulation of heat and infrared radiation by using a functionally graded transparent nanocomposite consisting of a hollow network-nanoparticle hybrid. We demonstrate ΔT of 6.9°C by combining the light-reflectance properties of metallic nanoparticles and the thermal insulation of hollow shell networks, resulting in an equivalent cooling power of 396 W/m2 under a light intensity of 3 W/cm2. This flexible nanocomposite sheet shows a high transparency of 91.0%, low haze in the visible region, and a modulus of 160 MPa. The gradient nanocomposites combine UV light blocking, visible transparency, and infrared light shielding, potentially opening a new avenue for energy-saving building window applications.

Published in Cell Reports Physical Science

ISSN: 2666-3864 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics
Website: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science

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