VO2/Si-Al gel nanocomposite thermochromic smart foils: Largely enhanced luminous transmittance and solar modulation

C. Liu, X. Cao, A. Kamyshny, J. Y. Law, S. Magdassi, Y. Long*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

89 Scopus citations

Abstract

VO2 nanoparticles with a dimension of approximately 20nm were obtained by simple mechanical bead-milling method, which were well dispersed in transparent silica-alumina (Si-Al) gel matrix to form nanocomposites. The VO2/Si-Al gel thermochromic nanocomposite foils were fabricated with various VO2 solid contents and foil thickness. With 10% VO2 loading and 3μm foil thickness, high luminous transmittance (Tlum(20°C)=63.7% and Tlum(90°C)=54.4%), and large solar modulation ability (δTsol=12%) can be obtained which surpasses the best reported results (nanoporous films:Tlum(20°C)=43.3%, Tlum(90°C)=39.9% and δTsol=14.1%). This current approach provided a simple and scalable preparation method with the best combined thermochromic performance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)49-53
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Colloid and Interface Science
Volume427
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2014

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation under CREATE program: Nanomaterials for Energy and Water Management. The electron microscopy and XRD work were performed at the Facility for Analysis, Characterization, Testing and Simulation (FACTS) in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Keywords

  • Mechanical bead milling
  • Nanocomposite
  • Nanoparticle
  • Nanothermochromic
  • Smart window
  • Sol-gel
  • Vanadium dioxide

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'VO2/Si-Al gel nanocomposite thermochromic smart foils: Largely enhanced luminous transmittance and solar modulation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this