Smart Window Structures Based on Highly Conductive, Transparent Metal Nanomeshes and Thermochromic Perovskite Films

Abstract

Low resistance and high transparency of TCEs are two essential prerequisites for a variety of applications, including the fabrication of smart windows. [8] Among various TCEs, highly transparent and conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) is most commonly employed; however, its highly brittle nature hinders its application in flexible electronics and the scarcity of indium results in high material cost. [9] The bending strain tolerance and mechanical flexibility of ITO/elastomeric substrates are inadequate because of the brittle nature of ITO, which renders flexible ITO substrates impractical for real-life stretchable, foldable, or bendable optoelectronics applications. [10] In addition, the relatively low thermal conductivity of ITO leads to longer response times for devices reliant on thermally activated transitions, such as thermochromic smart windows. Extensive research has therefore been devoted to ITO alternatives including carbon-based TCEs such as graphene, [11] carbon nanotubes, [12] or conducting polymers, [13] and metal-based TCEs such as metal nanowires [14] or metal meshes. [15] Among these ITO alternatives, metal meshes, which are composed of periodic micro-or nanostructured metal networks on a transparent substrate, have gained considerable attention as high performance TCEs offering several advantages, including excellent mechanical flexibility, high conductivity, tunable transmittance, and low fabrication cost. [16,17] The current fabrication methods for these metal mesh films often involve low throughput, smallscale fabrication techniques such as e-beam lithography, nanoimprint lithography, photolithography, and laser writing, which are generally time-consuming and require substantial capital investment. Therefore, the nanosphere lithography method which involves a scalable, high throughput fabrication process of metal mesh films was introduced. [18] Nanosphere lithography (NSL) enables rapid, low-cost fabrication of deep submicron metal nanomesh (NM) patterns via the self-assembled formation of a hexagonal close packed monolayer of spherical particles which serves as a patterning mask. It provides a scalable and high throughput lithography process which can be implemented for both rigid and flexible substrates. [19] Moreover, NSL enables precise control over the

Flexible and Transparent Leaf-vein Electrodes Fabricated by Liquid Film Rupture Self-Assembly AgNWs for Application of Heaters and Pressure Sensors

“…The figure of merit (FoM) was used to quantitatively evaluate the overall properties of the transparent conductive films, which can be expressed as [27] :…”

Perovskite Smart Windows: The Light Manipulator in Energy‐Efficient Buildings

“…Wu et al employed the highly conductive and transparent (90% transmittance at 550 nm) ZnO/Au/Al 2 O 3 nanomesh (NM) film as the transparent heater to trigger the thermochromism of MAPbI 3−x Cl x perovskite (TC-PVK window). [165] Benefiting from the excellent electrical conductivity (sheet resistance lower than 20 Ω sq −1 ) of ZnO/Au/Al 2 O 3 NM, the TC-PVK window surface temperature could reach the T c,h (i.e., 50 °C) of MAPbI 3−x Cl x perovskite with external electrical heating supply (0.496 W power output) (Figure 18f-i). Once the thermochromic transition was activated, sole AM 1.5G illumination would be sufficient to maintain the colored state without needing continuous electricity input.…”

“…ii Transmittance curves of TC-PVK windows integrated with ZnO/Au/Al 2 O 3 TF, ZnO/Au/Al 2 O 3 NM, and ITO glass in response to electrical heating on/off, without (top plot) and with (bottom plot) solar illumination. Reproduced with permission [165]. Copyright 2023, Wiley-VCH.…”

Massively Scalable Self‐Assembly of Nano and Microparticle Monolayers via Aerosol Assisted Deposition

“…[6] These advancements have enabled extremely high specific power (W kg −1 ) and are very important for improving market competitiveness and widening the scope of PV power generation to new areas such as the automotive industry, unmanned aerial vehicles, and building integrated PVs. [1,[7][8][9] Similarly, DOI: 10.1002/adma.202309775 periodic arrays of dielectric, semiconductor, and plasmonic nanostructures have also demonstrated powerful sensing [2,3,10,11] and catalytic capabilities [4,5,12] as well as antireflection, [13][14][15][16] structural coloring [17][18][19][20][21][22] properties, and have successfully been used to fabricate high-quality transparent electrodes [23,24] which are important for next generation display, public health, and aerospace technologies. Currently, the submicron nanostructures enabling these technologies are made utilizing nanoimprint lithography, electron beam lithography, or photolithography.…”