International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Volume. 4, Issue 2, 25302(2022)
3D printed hydrogel for soft thermo-responsive smart window
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
Received: Sep. 9, 2021
Accepted: --
Published Online: Jan. 22, 2023
The Author Email: Wang Zhaolong (zhaolongwang@hnu.edu.cn)