International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Volume. 4, Issue 2, 25302(2022)

3D printed hydrogel for soft thermo-responsive smart window

Lei Chen1, Guihui Duan1, Ce Zhang2, Ping Cheng3, and Zhaolong Wang1、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of China
  • 2Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), Beijing 10094, People’s Republic of China
  • 3MOE Key Laboratory for Power Machinery and Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
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    Smart windows with tunable optical properties that respond to external environments are being developed to reduce energy consumption in buildings. In the present study, we introduce a new type of 3D printed hydrogel with amazing flexibility and stretchability (as large as 1500%), as well as tunable optical performance controlled by surrounding temperatures. The hydrogel on a PDMS substrate shows transparent-opaque transition with high solar modulation (ΔTsol) up to 79.332% around its lower critical solution temperature (LCST) while maintaining a high luminous transmittance (Tlum) of 85.847% at 20 ℃. In addition, selective transparent-opaque transition above LCST can be achieved by patterned hydrogels which are precisely fabricated via a projection micro-stereolithography based 3D printing technique. Our hydrogel promises great potential applications for the next generation of soft smart windows.

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    Lei Chen, Guihui Duan, Ce Zhang, Ping Cheng, Zhaolong Wang. 3D printed hydrogel for soft thermo-responsive smart window[J]. International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, 2022, 4(2): 25302

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    Paper Information

    Received: Sep. 9, 2021

    Accepted: --

    Published Online: Jan. 22, 2023

    The Author Email: Wang Zhaolong (zhaolongwang@hnu.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.1088/2631-7990/ac5ae3

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