pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows

Thermoresponsive hydrogels have been designed for smart windows to dynamically modulate solar radiation, but their inherent drawbacks of long response time and imperfectly matched phase transition temperature have limited their wide applications. This work reports a novel composite hydrogel consisti...

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Main Authors: Zhong Sai, Xue Yuxuan, Wang Kuanwen, Li Haoyang, Lu Yanghua, Pang Zhenqian, Jiang Tengyao, Tan Gang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Science Press 2024-03-01
Series:National Science Open
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.sciengine.com/doi/10.1360/nso/20230071
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author Zhong Sai
Xue Yuxuan
Wang Kuanwen
Li Haoyang
Lu Yanghua
Pang Zhenqian
Jiang Tengyao
Tan Gang
author_facet Zhong Sai
Xue Yuxuan
Wang Kuanwen
Li Haoyang
Lu Yanghua
Pang Zhenqian
Jiang Tengyao
Tan Gang
author_sort Zhong Sai
collection DOAJ
description Thermoresponsive hydrogels have been designed for smart windows to dynamically modulate solar radiation, but their inherent drawbacks of long response time and imperfectly matched phase transition temperature have limited their wide applications. This work reports a novel composite hydrogel consisting of hydroxypropyl cellulose, polyacrylic acid, and carbon quantum dots with intriguing features of tunable transition temperature and enhanced switching speed. The composite hydrogel demonstrated flexible tunability in transition temperature by controlling the hydrogen ion concentration and a fast response speed by dopping with carbon dots for efficient photothermal conversion. The building energy simulation was carried out to investigate the impacts of transition temperature variations and solar regulations on the space cooling/heating loads under different climate conditions, revealing the necessity of tunability of both transition temperature and solar transmittance in thermochromic smart windows. This novel design of thermochromic composite hydrogel provides insight into theoretical and experimental support for future adaptive building envelopes.
format Article
id doaj-art-2057c5d671f446348e6b51b1f6da8506
institution OA Journals
issn 2097-1168
language English
publishDate 2024-03-01
publisher Science Press
record_format Article
series National Science Open
spelling doaj-art-2057c5d671f446348e6b51b1f6da85062025-08-20T02:03:06ZengScience PressNational Science Open2097-11682024-03-01310.1360/nso/20230071eb33e642pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windowsZhong Sai0Xue Yuxuan1Wang Kuanwen2Li Haoyang3Lu Yanghua4Pang Zhenqian5Jiang Tengyao6Tan Gang7["School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China"]["School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China"]["School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China"]["The Smart Materials for Architecture Research Lab, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing 314100, China"]["The Smart Materials for Architecture Research Lab, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing 314100, China"]["College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China","The Smart Materials for Architecture Research Lab, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing 314100, China"]["School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China"]["College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China","The Smart Materials for Architecture Research Lab, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing 314100, China"]Thermoresponsive hydrogels have been designed for smart windows to dynamically modulate solar radiation, but their inherent drawbacks of long response time and imperfectly matched phase transition temperature have limited their wide applications. This work reports a novel composite hydrogel consisting of hydroxypropyl cellulose, polyacrylic acid, and carbon quantum dots with intriguing features of tunable transition temperature and enhanced switching speed. The composite hydrogel demonstrated flexible tunability in transition temperature by controlling the hydrogen ion concentration and a fast response speed by dopping with carbon dots for efficient photothermal conversion. The building energy simulation was carried out to investigate the impacts of transition temperature variations and solar regulations on the space cooling/heating loads under different climate conditions, revealing the necessity of tunability of both transition temperature and solar transmittance in thermochromic smart windows. This novel design of thermochromic composite hydrogel provides insight into theoretical and experimental support for future adaptive building envelopes.https://www.sciengine.com/doi/10.1360/nso/20230071thermochromic hydrogeltransition temperaturecarbon quantum dotslower critical solution temperature tunabilitybuilding energy efficiency
spellingShingle Zhong Sai
Xue Yuxuan
Wang Kuanwen
Li Haoyang
Lu Yanghua
Pang Zhenqian
Jiang Tengyao
Tan Gang
pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows
National Science Open
thermochromic hydrogel
transition temperature
carbon quantum dots
lower critical solution temperature tunability
building energy efficiency
title pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows
title_full pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows
title_fullStr pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows
title_full_unstemmed pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows
title_short pH-sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows
title_sort ph sensitive tunable thermochromic hydrogel with carbon quantum dots for smart windows
topic thermochromic hydrogel
transition temperature
carbon quantum dots
lower critical solution temperature tunability
building energy efficiency
url https://www.sciengine.com/doi/10.1360/nso/20230071
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AT wangkuanwen phsensitivetunablethermochromichydrogelwithcarbonquantumdotsforsmartwindows
AT lihaoyang phsensitivetunablethermochromichydrogelwithcarbonquantumdotsforsmartwindows
AT luyanghua phsensitivetunablethermochromichydrogelwithcarbonquantumdotsforsmartwindows
AT pangzhenqian phsensitivetunablethermochromichydrogelwithcarbonquantumdotsforsmartwindows
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