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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

TiO2-coated Hollow Glass Microspheres with Superhydrophobic and High IR-reflective Properties Synthesized by a Soft-chemistry Method
Published on: April 26, 2017
Three-Layered Hollow Nanospheres Based Coatings with Ultrahigh-Performance of Energy-Saving, Antireflection, and
Lin Yao1, Zhe Qu1,2, Zili Pang1
1Functional Nanomaterials Laboratory, Center for Micro/Nanomaterials and Technology and Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
Abstract:
In this study, a well-controlled interfacial engineering method for the synthesis of SiO2 /TiO2 /VO2 three-layered hollow nanospheres (TLHNs) and TLHNs-based multifunctional coatings is reported. The as-prepared coatings allow for an outstanding integration of thermochromism from the outer VO2 (M) layer, photocatalytic self-cleaning capability from the middle TiO2 (A) layer, and antireflective property from internal SiO2 HNs. The TLHNs coatings exhibit excellent optical performance with ultrahigh luminous transmittance (Tlum-l = 74%) and an improved solar modulation ability (ΔTsol = 12%). To the best knowledge, this integrated optical performance is the highest ever reported for TiO2 /VO2 -based thermochromic coatings. An ingenious computation model is proposed, which allows the neff of nanostructured coatings to be rapidly obtained. The experimental and calculated results reveal that the unique three-layered structure significantly reduces the refractive index (from 2.25 to 1.33 at 600 nm) and reflectance (Rave, from 22.3 to 5.3%) in the visible region as compared with dense coatings. Infrared thermal imaging characterization and self-cleaning tests provide valid evidence of SiO2 /TiO2 /VO2 TLHNs coatings' potential for energy-saving and self-cleaning smart windows. The exciting inexpensive and universal fabrication process for well-defined structures may inspire various developments in processable and multifunctional devices.
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