Sustainable Magic-E smart window material

Background

Smart windows can switch their transparency and color in response to external stimuli. They are developed to reduce the energy consumption of buildings for cooling, heating, and lighting, which accounts for approximately 40% of total energy demand in developed countries. Current market approaches utilize either electro and thermal actuation to trigger the response via various materials, e.g., polymer dispersed liquid crystals, metal/metal oxide–polymer hybrids and chromogenic materials. Even though electro and thermo-responsive smart windows provide a fast and reversible switch between clear and dark states, their commercial applicability is limited by external power supply constraints, complex fabrication processes and high cost.

Advantages

• Time/Cost Reduction – the raw material for fabricating sustainable materials is much less expensive. All components used in the smart window are already available in the market. No chemical syntheses are involved in the preparation of the smart window, making production safe and cost effective.
• Environmentally friendly - water based without any VOCs such as toluene or formaldehyde in order to ensure health and safety and environmental sustainability.
• Fast switch of transparency – within 1 second.

Potential applications

• Outdoor use for building
• Indoor use for office and bathroom
• Sunroof of vehicles
• Anti-counterfeiting material
• Dynamic light grating
• Strain sensor