PFI-TT: Energy-Efficient Smart-Privacy Windows made of Dynamic Crystals

PFI-TT：由动态晶体制成的节能智能隐私窗

• 批准号: 2044762
• 负责人: Ivan Smalyukh
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-06-01 至 2024-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2044762&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; TT; Energy; Efficient; Smart

The broader impact and commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project includes the development of inexpensive, energy-efficient window technologies and devices. Optical light transmission of such windows will be switchable by low-voltage electric fields within a fraction of a second. Beyond windows, other potential applications include coverings of greenhouses, skylights, and a large variety of electro-optic applications. The societal outcomes include reduction of energy consumption, improved comfort of building inhabitants, reduced energy demand, and creation of new jobs associated with manufacturing of these new breeds of energy-efficient windows. The team will utilize demonstrations based on the project’s outcomes to contribute to the general public's appreciation of the importance of the energy efficient technologies.The proposed project develops energy efficient windows capable of dynamically controlling transmitted light by applying low voltages (~1 Volt). Commercial and residential windows are the source of loss of about 40% of heating/cooling energy. The nanostructured liquid crystal technology promises to improve dynamic windows by controlling light transmission in the visible and near-infrared. This control will be achieved using a thin layer of a liquid crystal with ordered metal nanoparticles dispersed within it, which can be continuously rotated or switched using low-voltage fields. The main goal of this project is to develop and test prototypes of inexpensive. electrically-switchable windows while solving technological hurdles related to the speed of switching and scaling their dimensions. Skylights are the initial target market. The team will explore how these switchable devices can be engineered using nanoparticle-doped liquid crystals for applications in buildings within different climate zones. This application may lay the groundwork for a number of other technologies that rely on electrically-controlled molecular and nanoparticle organization at the mesoscale.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这种伙伴关系对创新 - 技术翻译（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛的影响和商业潜力包括开发便宜，节能的窗户技术和设备。此类窗户的光学传输将通过低压电场在一秒钟内的低压电场进行切换。除了窗户外，其他潜在的应用程序还包括温室，天窗的覆盖物以及各种各样的电磁应用。社会成果包括减少能源消耗，改善建筑居民的舒适度，减少能源需求以及与这些新型节能窗户的制造相关的新工作。该团队将根据项目的成果利用示威活动，以促进公众对节能技术重要性的欣赏。拟议的项目开发了能够通过应用低伏特（〜1伏特）动态控制传输光的能源有效的窗口。商业和居民窗户是损失约40％的加热/冷却能量的来源。纳米结构的液晶技术有望通过控制可见光和近红外的光变速器来改善动态窗口。使用有序的金属纳米颗粒分散的液晶薄层可以实现此控制，可以使用低压场连续旋转或切换。该项目的主要目标是开发和测试廉价的原型。在解决与切换和缩放尺寸相关的技术障碍时，可开关的窗户。天窗是最初的目标市场。该团队将探索如何使用纳米颗粒掺杂的液晶来设计这些可​​切换设备，以在不同气候区域内的建筑物中应用。该应用可能为许多其他技术奠定了基础，这些技术依赖于中尺度上的电控制的分子和纳米颗粒组织。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响标准通过评估来评估的支持。