Regulating Monolayer Aligned Silver Nanowire Coatings for Energy-Saving Windows

Abstract

Low-emissivity (low-e) glass has garnered considerable attention for implementation in energy-saving windows, which can effectively decrease the energy consumption of buildings. However, the traditional vacuum-coating technology of low-e films greatly enhances the cost of energy-saving windows, and the influence of the vacuum-coating parameters on the optical characteristics of low-e films necessitates a complex optimization process. Herein, we prepared Ag NWs with controllable diameters using the polyol method, and the alignment of the Ag NW film coating on glass substrates was regulated by the shear force of the liquid flow generated through magnetic stirring. After optimization, the low-εMIR windows based on aligned Ag NW (60 nm) coatings showed an optical transmittance of 84.4% and a low εMIR of 0.3, which were superior to those of commercial low-εMIR glass (T: 65.6%; εMIR: 0.4). The simplicity and low cost of aligned Ag NW coatings for low-e glass open up a new avenue for reducing energy consumption in existing windows.