Thermochromic vanadium-dioxide-based thin films and nanoparticles: Survey of some buildings-related advances

Abstract

Today's architecture uses large glazings (windows and glass facades) to obtain good indoors-outdoors contact and day-lighting. However glazings offer challenges and often lead to excessive solar energy inflow and thereby a need for energy-demanding space cooling. This paper summarizes recent work on thermochromic (TC) materials intended for energy-efficient buildings and outlines how vanadium-dioxide-based thin films and nanoparticle composites can be used in TC glazings which admit more solar energy below a comfort temperature than above this temperature, so that the cooling need is diminished, while the transmittance of visible light remains high. We also report on some very recent work on TC light scattering.