3D Ordered Macroporous VO2 Thin Films with an Efficient Thermochromic Modulation Capability for Advanced Smart Windows. Issue 22 (20th August 2019) - Zhuang, Bainiu
Abstract: Thermochromic smart windows can provide innovative energy savings via intelligently modulating the transmittance of indoor solar radiation to reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning in buildings. Vanadium dioxide (VO2 ) has desirable thermochromic properties and great prospects in smart windows. Herein, 3D ordered macroporous (3DOM) VO2 films are prepared via a sacrificial colloid template method. The as‐fabricated 3DOM VO2 films exhibit a pure monoclinic phase with a uniform layout, controllable thickness and domain sizes, and excellent optical properties. Compared to a nontemplated film, the 3DOM structured VO2 exhibits improved thermochromic performance with a high solar modulation ability (Δ T sol ) of 10.8% and an ultrahigh visible transmittance ( T vis ) of 71.1%. In the near‐infrared region, a large contrast transmittance of 59.5% at 2500 nm is obtained for the 3DOM VO2 film. Such excellent optical properties arising from the 3DOM structure are also demonstrated by finite element analysis. This work offers a promising way to manipulate the optical properties of a VO2 thermochromic film via structural engineering for the deployment of smart windows. Abstract : 3D ordered macroporous (3DOM) VO2 films are prepared via a sacrificial colloid template method. The as‐fabricated 3DOM VO2 films exhibit a pure monoclinic phase with a uniform layout, controllable thickness, and domain sizes and excellent optical properties. Such excellent optical properties arising from the 3DOM structure are confirmed by the computational finite element analysis.