The adaptive control of sunlight through photochromic smart windows could have a huge impact on the energy efficiency and daylight comfort in buildings. However, the fabrication of inorganic nanoparticle and polymer composite photochromic films with a high contrast ratio and high transparency/low haze remains a challenge. Here, a solution method is presented for the in situ growth of copper-doped tungsten trioxide nanoparticles in polymethyl methacrylate, which allows a low-cost preparation of photochromic films with a high luminous transparency (luminous transmittance T_lum = 91%) and scalability (30 × 350 cm²). High modulation of visible light (ΔT_lum = 73%) and solar heat (modulation of solar transmittance ΔT_sol = 73%, modulation of solar heat gain coefficient ΔSHGC = 0.5) of the film improves the indoor daylight comfort and energy efficiency. Simulation results show that low-e windows with the photochromic film applied can greatly enhance the energy efficiency and daylight comfort. This photochromic film presents an attractive strategy for achieving more energy-efficient buildings and carbon neutrality to combat global climate change.

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Photochromic smart windows have drawn increasing attention as an approach to improve building energy efficiency and enhance indoor daylight comfort. However, existing photochromic smart windows still block sunlight from entering the room on sunny winter days, causing additional energy consumption for heating. Herein, a dual-mode smart window is designed with decoupled photo and thermal functions by combining colorless Fe-doped WO3 photochromic film with window rotation. Based on this, selective heating and cooling of the room between winter and summer is achieved while maintaining the daylight comfort benefits during all seasons. As a proof of concept, the smart window reduces the temperature of a model house by up to 7.9 °C in summer mode, while in winter mode the temperature is only reduced by 0.7 °C. The proposed seasonally adaptive dual-mode smart window obtains by window rotation overcomes the limitations of conventional photochromic smart windows, which not only achieves better energy efficiency but also retains improved daylight comfort. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the heat absorbed by the smart window can be harnessed to produce electricity through the integration of thermoelectric modules within the glazing, which enhances its impact on reducing energy consumption.@en

Cholesteric liquid crystal oligomers are widely researched for their interesting thermochromic properties. However, structure-property relationships to program the thermochromic properties of these oligomers have been rarely reported. In this work, we use the versatile thiol-ene click reaction to synthesize a series of hetero-oligomers and study the impact of different compositions on the thermochromic behavior of the resulting material. Characterization of the oligomers shows significantly different rates of reaction for the monomers despite their very similar structures, which leads to oligomer compositions that do not match the original reaction feed. The oligomers are then used to produce thin near-infrared reflecting coatings. The best-performing thermochromic reflector has a room-temperature reflection band that shifts a total of 510 nanometers upon heating to 120 °C. The shift is repeatable for up to 10 times with no appreciable degradation. The room temperature reflection of the coatings is shown to be tunable not only by adjusting the chiral dopant concentration but also by the ratio of the monomers. Finally, we show that the oligomers can be chemically modified by making their reactive end groups undergo a reaction with monothiol compounds. These modifications allow for further fine-tuning of liquid crystal oligomers for heat-regulating window films, for example.

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The type of glazing implemented in a building plays an important role in the heat management of a building. Solar heat entering through glazing causes overheating of interior spaces and increases building’s cooling load. In this work, the energy saving potential of window films based on Cholesteric Liquid Crystals (CLC) is explored. This emerging technology allows for the fabrication of static and thermochromic solar heat rejecting window films and can provide a simple renovation solution towards energy efficient buildings. Simulations on a model office showed that static CLC-based window films can save up to 29% on a building’s annual energy use in warm climates. In climates with distinct summer and winter seasons, static solar heat rejecting windows films cause an additional heating demand during winters, which reduces the annual energy savings. In these climates, the benefit of thermochromic CLC-based window films becomes evident and an annual energy saving up to 22% can be achieved.@en