Bright environments and thermally comfortable: this is the objective of the research conducted by a team from the University of Notre Dame, in the United States. The group of researchers, led by Professor Tengfei Luo, has indeed developed an "intelligent" glass capable of blocking infrared and ultraviolet light, without preventing the passage of visible light.
An energy saving glass
This coating can find application in both the construction and automotive sectors, reducing the cooling costs associated with using air conditioning in hot climates by more than a third. The glass developed by Professor Tengfei Luo's team ensures maximum efficiency regardless of the position of the sun in the sky.
The research resumed work previously conducted by Tengfei Luo himself, in cooperation with his postdoctoral collaborator Seongmin Kim. The coating, composed by adding ultra-thin layers of silica, alumina and titanium oxide to a glass base, has now been perfected thanks to the aggregation of a micrometer-thick silicon polymer. This solution allows you to improve the cooling power of the 'glass', since it is able to return thermal radiation into the void, preventing the building or interior from heating up.
The challenge of layers
To obtain the optimal configuration of these layers, i.e. the one that produces a consistent reduction in the passage of heat-generating wavelengths and a maximization of the transmission of visible light, the team used quantum annealing and the experimental results confirmed what was hypothesized by the mathematical method.
The model created by researchers at the University of Notre Dame therefore makes it possible to maintain the typical transparency of glass, while reducing the internal temperature of 5,4°C–7,2°C (regardless of the angle through which the light is transmitted), with an annual energy saving of approximately 97.5 MJ/m2.
The results were published in the scientific journal Cell Reports Physical Science and open up great possibilities with respect to the design of a wide range of coatings and materials with complex and versatile properties.
Source: news.nd.edu, futuroprossimo.it
