Researchers at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) have developed a method for making spray-on, ultra-thin coatings that can block heat and conduct electricity. Not only are these coatings more cost effective than energy-saving smart windows and repellent glass, they can also rival the performance of current industry standards for transparent electrodes, according to the university.
The current process for manufacturing transparent electrodes—a thin and highly conductive clear coating often used for smart windows, touchscreen displays, LED lighting, and solar panels—is time-consuming and requires expensive raw materials. By contrast, the new spray-on method is fast, scalable, and based on cheaper materials.
According to lead researcher Enrico Della Gaspera, RMIT’s pioneering method could significantly reduce the cost of energy-saving windows and potentially make them a standard part of new builds and retrofits.
“Smart windows and low-E glass can help regulate temperatures inside a building, delivering major environmental benefits and financial savings, but they remain expensive and challenging to manufacture,” says Della Gaspera, who serves as senior lecturer and Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow at RMIT. “The ultimate aim is to make smart windows much more accessible, cutting energy costs and reducing the carbon footprint of new and retrofitted buildings.”
Researchers say the method could be optimized to produce coatings tailored to the transparency and conductivity requirements of transparent electrodes. As for next steps, research is being conducted to develop precursors that will decompose at lower temperatures and to scale up production by producing larger prototypes, says first author Jaewon Kim, a PhD researcher in applied chemistry at RMIT.
“The spray coater we use can be automatically controlled and programmed, so fabricating bigger proof-of-concept panels will be relatively simple,” he adds.
Source: RMIT University, www.rmit.edu.au.