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John O | September 2017

Nanoparticles being added to windows to beat the summer heat


researchers at sandia national laboratories (albuquerque, n.m.) and santa fe, n.m.-based nanomaterial company ir dynamics have collaborated on a project to include nanoparticles that reflect heat and infrared radiation into window films for buildings and vehicles.

 


sandia national laboratories materials physicist paul clem holds a sample of nanoparticle coated glass. (randy montoya/sandia national laboratories)

 

according to a report from sandia labs, this project began in 2013 as research into using nanoparticles in electronics but adapted to meet the need for windows that would automatically let heat in during cold times and keep heat out when temperatures rise.

 

to accomplish this goal, researchers turned to vanadium dioxide. the report explained, “vanadium dioxide is thermochromic; it changes its optical transmission with temperature. at cooler temperatures it is transparent to infrared light. when it heats up, it becomes metallic and reflects infrared, or ir, radiation without obstructing the view of visible light.”

 

researchers saw this material as a break from the electrochromic glass that was currently on the market. those installations require extensive infrastructure to provide the electrical charge that switches the properties of the glass material.

 

sandia labs has developed a multistage process for creating the necessary nanoparticles and also “a spray-paint-like mixture” for dispersing the particles.

 

the researchers have worked to determine the proper amount of material to make the windows efficient. by fine tuning the number of nanoparticles, researchers have created “recipes” for windows that switch at temperatures ranging from -40°f to 200°f.

 

first, the researchers are hoping to commercialize a film that homeowners can apply to existing windows to lower costs with future plans including the addition of nanoparticles to new windows and even to architectural plastics.

 

“in 2016, ir dynamics received a $1.95 million grant from the department of energy’s advanced research project agency-energy shield program to bridge ‘the valley of death’ — a difficult period for startups before they produce a profitable product — and make retrofit window films a reality,” the article added.

 

“the goal of this program is to make single-pane windows as energy efficient as double-pane windows. if every single-pane window in the u.s. was upgraded, it would save about 1.3 percent of all u.s. energy, or roughly the amount needed to power 32 million u.s. homes for a year.”

 

the research was originally published in power diffraction in 2014. the abstract stated:

 

“the monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transition (~70 °c) in vanadium dioxide (vo2) strongly impacts the infrared properties, which enables its use in applications such as smart window devices. synthesis of vo2 can be challenging due to the variability of vanadium oxide phases that may be formed.

 

“we have employed high-temperature x-ray diffraction (htxrd) to monitor the reaction process of vanadium oxide precursor powders to form the desired tetragonal vo2 phase. single-phase tetragonal vo2 was formed within 30 min at 420 °c in flowing n2 gas (~50 ppm o2).

 

“the monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transformation was observed via htxrd at ~70 °c with the typical ~10 °c hysteresis (i.e. approached from above or below the transition).”

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