Responsive Smart Windows from Nanoparticle–Polymer Composites

Abstract

Windows play significant roles in commercial and residential buildings and automobiles, which direct and control light illumination, thermal insulation, natural ventilation, and aesthetics. Various approaches are attempted to make windows “smart” by tailoring their transparency and thermal insulation in response to environmental changes. Hence, there has been much effort to develop smart windows that can dynamically modulate the transmission and reflectance of the visible light and solar radiance into buildings according to weather conditions or personal preferences. Development of smart window materials is also beneficial to applications including wearable sensors, energy harvesting and storage, and medical devices. By carefully matching the refractive indices of nanoparticle (NPs) and polymer matrix, surface chemistry, and their mechanical properties, particle‐embedded polymer composites can exhibit synergistic effects with improved chemical and mechanical stability, enhanced dispersion of NPs, and optimized and stimuli‐responsive optical properties. Here, an overview of recent progresses in the development of smart windows based on electro‐, thermo‐, and mechanoactuations is provided. Additional functionalities, e.g., flexibility, stretchability, and mechanical/chemical stability, can also be achieved by careful choices of NPs and polymers.

Hierarchically Molecular Imprinted Porous Particles for Biomimetic Kidney Cleaning

“…provides a chemical-specific recognition process via a lock-and-key molecular binding mechanism. [12][13][14] Particularly, this principle could be entailed in lowcost, biocompatible hydrogel materials. [15] Therefore, molecular imprinting has been applied, as an alternative, in selective adsorption of small biomolecules or biomacromolecules.…”

Smart polymer nanocomposites: A review

“…For example, the addition of carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene nanoplatelet is capable of converting the electrical current into heat through Joule effect and thus actuating the SMP [3]. SMP nanocomposites can be used in electrochemical devices, biomimetic devices, actuators and sensors, active sound-absorbing materials, smart textiles, smart windows, deployable space structures, morphing aircraft, artificial muscle, civil and architecture applications [57,58]. SMP based on biopolymer is worth to mention because this kind of successful SMP can offer good biodegradability and compostability, which is in line with sustainable development [59].…”

Design of cross-linked polyisobutylene matrix for efficient encapsulation of quantum dots

“…Although a number of attempts have been undertaken to nd an optimal matrix for embedding QDs such as ionic crystals, [12][13][14][15][16] silica, 17 metal oxides, 18 or inorganicorganic hybrid materials, 19,20 polymers remain the most appropriate and promising matrices for this application. 21,22 Polymers are attractive as host materials for QDs due to their low cost, simple processing and availability on an industrial scale. Dielectric polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane, polystyrene, and polyacrylates can be used as host materials for semiconductor nanocrystals due to their optical transparency in the visible region, high mechanical durability and extensive knowledge of their chemistry.…”