Multistimuli-responsive smart windows based on paraffin-polymer composites
Otaegui, Jaume Ramon (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Ruiz-Molina, Daniel (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Hernando Campos, Jordi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química)
Roscini, Claudio (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Despite their potential to reduce energy consumption in buildings and increase user's comfort, the general application of smart windows is currently hampered by economic and technological factors. To overcome these limitations, herein we report a new strategy for the fabrication of thermoresponsive smart windows based on polymer films loaded with paraffin nanoparticles. Proper selection of these components allows refractive index matching when the paraffin nanoparticles are in their solid state - i. e. , high visible and near-infrared light transparency -, which is lost after melting, thereby resulting in pronounced light scattering - i. e. , opacity. As a result, these films show ample modulation of sunlight transmittance upon heating, while additionally exhibiting other advantageous features: facile preparation from low-cost materials; high photostability, flexibility and scalability; and fine tunability of their thermal response. Moreover, by deposition onto transparent electrodes or incorporation of nanostructured photothermal agents, the solar transmittance modulation of our paraffin-polymer composites can also be triggered with low voltages - i. e. , to warrant user's control - or sunlight absorption - i. e. , to improve self-adaptation to ambient conditions. Actually, films with combined thermal and photothermal activity allow high sunlight transmission in cold weather while efficiently reducing solar heat gain indoors in sunny hot days.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación RTI2018-098027-B-C21 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-106171RB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PDC2022-133368-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-00465 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/PROD-00190 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SEV-2017-0706
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Smart windows ; Thermochromism ; Photochromism ; Electrochromism ; Energy saving ; Photothermal heating
Published in:	Chemical engineering journal (1996), Vol. 463 (May 2023) , art. 142390, ISSN 1873-3212

DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2023.142390

12 p, 14.4 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Group in Electrochemistry, Photochemistry and Organic Reactivity (GEFRO)
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles