VO₂/Si-Al gel nanocomposite thermochromic smart foils: largely enhanced luminous transmittance and solar modulation

VO2 nanoparticles with a dimension of approximately 20 nm were obtained by simple mechanical bead-milling method, which were well dispersed in transparent silica-alumina (Si-Al) gel matrix to form nanocomposites. The VO2/Si-Al gel thermochromic nanocomposite foils were fabricated with various VO2 solid contents and foil thickness. With 10% VO2 loading and 3 μm foil thickness, high luminous transmittance (T(lum(20°C))=63.7% and T(lum(90°C))=54.4%), and large solar modulation ability (ΔTsol=12%) can be obtained which surpasses the best reported results (nanoporous films:T(lum(20°C))=43.3%, T(lum(90°C))=39.9% and ΔTsol=14.1%). This current approach provided a simple and scalable preparation method with the best combined thermochromic performance.