Energy-saving buildings(ESBs)are an emerging green technology that can significantly reduce building-associated cooling and heating energy consumption,catering to the desire for carbon neutrality and sustainable devel...Energy-saving buildings(ESBs)are an emerging green technology that can significantly reduce building-associated cooling and heating energy consumption,catering to the desire for carbon neutrality and sustainable development of society.Smart photovoltaic windows(SPWs)offer a promising platform for designing ESBs because they present the capability to regulate and harness solar energy.With frequent outbreaks of extreme weather all over the world,the achievement of exceptional energy-saving effect under different weather conditions is an inevitable trend for the development of ESBs but is hardly achieved via existing SPWs.Here,we substantially reduce the driving voltage of polymerdispersed liquid crystals(PDLCs)by 28.1%via molecular engineering while maintaining their high solar transmittance(T_(sol)=83.8%,transparent state)and solar modulating ability(ΔT_(sol)=80.5%).By the assembly of perovskite solar cell and a broadband thermal-managing unit encompassing the electrical-responsive PDLCs,transparent high-emissivity SiO_(2) passive radiation-cooling,and Ag low-emissivity layers possesses,we present a tri-band regulation and split-type SPW possessing superb energy-saving effect in all-season.The perovskite solar cell can produce the electric power to stimulate the electrical-responsive behavior of the PDLCs,endowing the SPWs zero-energy input solar energy regulating characteristic,and compensate the daily energy consumption needed for ESBs.Moreover,the scalable manufacturing technology holds a great potential for the real-world applications.展开更多
Joining dissimilar materials encounters significant engineering challenges due to the contrast in material properties that makes conventional welding not feasible.Magnetic Pulse Welding(MPW)offers a solidstate joining...Joining dissimilar materials encounters significant engineering challenges due to the contrast in material properties that makes conventional welding not feasible.Magnetic Pulse Welding(MPW)offers a solidstate joining technique that overcomes these issues by using impact to create strong bonds without melting the substrate materials.This study investigates the weldability of aluminum alloy Al-5754 with Al-7075 and MARS 380 steel,used in armouring solutions of defense systems,by the use of MPW.In this work,weldability windows are investigated by varying standoff distances between the coating material and its substrate(0.25-4.5 mm)and discharge energies(5-13 kJ)with both O-shape and U-shape inductors.Mechanical strength of the welded joints were assessed through single lap shear tests,identifying optimal welding parameters.Then,the velocity profiles of the flyer plates were measured using heterodyne velocimetry to understand the dynamics of the impact.Then,substructures assembled with the optimal welding conditions were subjected to ballistic testing using 7.62 mm×51 mm NATO and 9 mm×19 mm Parabellum munitions to evaluate the resilience of the welds under ballistic impact.The outcomes demonstrate that MPW effectively joins Al-5754 with both Al-7075 and MARS 380,producing robust welds capable of withstanding ballistic impacts under certain conditions.This research advances the application of MPW in lightweight ballistic protection of defense systems,contributing to the development of more resilient and lighter protective structures.展开更多
The efficient regulation of sunlight to minimize unnecessary energy exchange through windows plays a vital role in advancing building energy efficiency.However,the inferior stability of cerium-doped tungsten trioxide(...The efficient regulation of sunlight to minimize unnecessary energy exchange through windows plays a vital role in advancing building energy efficiency.However,the inferior stability of cerium-doped tungsten trioxide(CWO)as a near-infrared(NIR)shielding material,combined with the poor mechanical properties of its coatings,poses significant challenges for long-term thermal insulation performance.Here,a hierarchical thermal insulation coating with multifunctional integration has been developed.The inner layer’s excellent NIR shielding performance(94.4%)results in a temperature reduction of 13.6°C,demonstrating outstanding thermal insulation.Meanwhile,the external layer composed of polysilsesquioxane grafted by carboxylated hexafluoropropylene trimer offers exceptional weather resistance due to the low surface energy.The fluorosilicone coating effectively mitigates oxidation of CWO,as evidenced by the retention of NIR shielding performance even after 30 days of exposure to 60°C and 90%relative humidity.Furthermore,the coating demonstrates superior anti-graffiti properties and achieves an ultra-high mechanical strength of 0.49 GPa through precise fluorine content modulation.This hierarchical design integrates high hardness,excellent abrasion resistance,anti-graffiti functionality,transparency,and long-term operational durability into a single smart window system,offering a promising solution for reducing building energy consumption.展开更多
Electrochromic smart windows(ESWs)can significantly reduce building energy consumption,but the high cost hinders large-scale production.The in situ growth of tungsten oxide(WO_(3))films is only by a simple immersion p...Electrochromic smart windows(ESWs)can significantly reduce building energy consumption,but the high cost hinders large-scale production.The in situ growth of tungsten oxide(WO_(3))films is only by a simple immersion process,the silver nanowires(AgNWs)undergo oxidation to Ag^(+)ions through electron loss,and the liberated electrons provide driving force for the deposition of WO_(4)^(2-).Enabled the fabrication of large-area WO_(3)films and ESWs were fabricated under minimal laboratory conditions,demonstrating the economic feasibility,efficient and reliable nature of industrial production.Structural characterization and density functional theory calculations were combined to confirm that AgNWs effectively regulate oxygen vacancies of WO_(3)films and promote the in situ growth process.The optimized WO_(3)exhibits a maximum transmittance modulation of 90.8%and excellent cycling stability of 20,000 cycles.The largescale WO_(3)-based ESWs can save building energy up to 140.0 MJ m^(-2)compared to traditional windows in tropical regions,as verified by simulations more than40 global cities.This research provides a new approach for improving the performance and industrial production of ESW,providing the full understanding and development direction to short the distance of the ESW commercial production.展开更多
Towards the development of highly efficient electrochromic coatings,the crystallinity,morphology(e.g.size and shape)of electrochromic nanomaterials,and their charge insertion capacities play a significant role.Herein,...Towards the development of highly efficient electrochromic coatings,the crystallinity,morphology(e.g.size and shape)of electrochromic nanomaterials,and their charge insertion capacities play a significant role.Herein,we report the structure-dependent colouration effciency in electrochromic coatings based on the use of 0D,1D and 2D tungsten trioxide(WO_(3))nanostructures.A series of WO_(3)with different nanostructures were prepared and used as working electrodes to fabricate electrochromic devices for smart windows applications.Facile spray coating was applied on fluorine-doped tin oxide(FTO)substrate to make~70%transparent working electrodes to investigate their charge insertion capacities,electrochromic active surface area,and colouration efficiency.Results showed that the 2D WO_(3)nanoflakes displayed the highest diffusion coefficient for the intercalation of 1.52×10^(-10)cm^(2)/s with an increased electrochemical active surface area of 25.10 mF/cm^(2),a large modulation of optical reflectance(42.63%)with 3.79 s shorter response time for bleaching and a greater colouration efficiency(CE)value(89.29 cm^(2)/C)at 700 nm compared to the CE value for 1D WO_(3)(of 22 cm^(2)/C)and 0D WO_(3)(8 cm^(2)/C).The outcome of this study provides a new insight and valuable contribution to design an efficient electrochromic coating by controlling and optimising the nanostructures of selective electrochromic materials.展开更多
基金supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52372076,52073081,52203322,5252200843)Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China(2023YFB3812800)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(FRF-TP-25-073)。
文摘Energy-saving buildings(ESBs)are an emerging green technology that can significantly reduce building-associated cooling and heating energy consumption,catering to the desire for carbon neutrality and sustainable development of society.Smart photovoltaic windows(SPWs)offer a promising platform for designing ESBs because they present the capability to regulate and harness solar energy.With frequent outbreaks of extreme weather all over the world,the achievement of exceptional energy-saving effect under different weather conditions is an inevitable trend for the development of ESBs but is hardly achieved via existing SPWs.Here,we substantially reduce the driving voltage of polymerdispersed liquid crystals(PDLCs)by 28.1%via molecular engineering while maintaining their high solar transmittance(T_(sol)=83.8%,transparent state)and solar modulating ability(ΔT_(sol)=80.5%).By the assembly of perovskite solar cell and a broadband thermal-managing unit encompassing the electrical-responsive PDLCs,transparent high-emissivity SiO_(2) passive radiation-cooling,and Ag low-emissivity layers possesses,we present a tri-band regulation and split-type SPW possessing superb energy-saving effect in all-season.The perovskite solar cell can produce the electric power to stimulate the electrical-responsive behavior of the PDLCs,endowing the SPWs zero-energy input solar energy regulating characteristic,and compensate the daily energy consumption needed for ESBs.Moreover,the scalable manufacturing technology holds a great potential for the real-world applications.
基金funded on the one hand by Agence de l'Innovation de Défense(AID)grant reference number 2021650044on the other hand by Ecole Centrale de Nantes。
文摘Joining dissimilar materials encounters significant engineering challenges due to the contrast in material properties that makes conventional welding not feasible.Magnetic Pulse Welding(MPW)offers a solidstate joining technique that overcomes these issues by using impact to create strong bonds without melting the substrate materials.This study investigates the weldability of aluminum alloy Al-5754 with Al-7075 and MARS 380 steel,used in armouring solutions of defense systems,by the use of MPW.In this work,weldability windows are investigated by varying standoff distances between the coating material and its substrate(0.25-4.5 mm)and discharge energies(5-13 kJ)with both O-shape and U-shape inductors.Mechanical strength of the welded joints were assessed through single lap shear tests,identifying optimal welding parameters.Then,the velocity profiles of the flyer plates were measured using heterodyne velocimetry to understand the dynamics of the impact.Then,substructures assembled with the optimal welding conditions were subjected to ballistic testing using 7.62 mm×51 mm NATO and 9 mm×19 mm Parabellum munitions to evaluate the resilience of the welds under ballistic impact.The outcomes demonstrate that MPW effectively joins Al-5754 with both Al-7075 and MARS 380,producing robust welds capable of withstanding ballistic impacts under certain conditions.This research advances the application of MPW in lightweight ballistic protection of defense systems,contributing to the development of more resilient and lighter protective structures.
基金financially supported by Shandong Province Postdoctoral Innovation Project(No.SDCX-ZG-202302017)Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(Nos.ZR2022QB045,ZR2024QB019 and ZR2025QC564).
文摘The efficient regulation of sunlight to minimize unnecessary energy exchange through windows plays a vital role in advancing building energy efficiency.However,the inferior stability of cerium-doped tungsten trioxide(CWO)as a near-infrared(NIR)shielding material,combined with the poor mechanical properties of its coatings,poses significant challenges for long-term thermal insulation performance.Here,a hierarchical thermal insulation coating with multifunctional integration has been developed.The inner layer’s excellent NIR shielding performance(94.4%)results in a temperature reduction of 13.6°C,demonstrating outstanding thermal insulation.Meanwhile,the external layer composed of polysilsesquioxane grafted by carboxylated hexafluoropropylene trimer offers exceptional weather resistance due to the low surface energy.The fluorosilicone coating effectively mitigates oxidation of CWO,as evidenced by the retention of NIR shielding performance even after 30 days of exposure to 60°C and 90%relative humidity.Furthermore,the coating demonstrates superior anti-graffiti properties and achieves an ultra-high mechanical strength of 0.49 GPa through precise fluorine content modulation.This hierarchical design integrates high hardness,excellent abrasion resistance,anti-graffiti functionality,transparency,and long-term operational durability into a single smart window system,offering a promising solution for reducing building energy consumption.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant No.52163022,62305076)Sichuan Science and Technology Program(2024ZYD0196)+1 种基金China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2023M740505)Sichuan Postdoctoral Science Special Foundation(No.TB2023010)。
文摘Electrochromic smart windows(ESWs)can significantly reduce building energy consumption,but the high cost hinders large-scale production.The in situ growth of tungsten oxide(WO_(3))films is only by a simple immersion process,the silver nanowires(AgNWs)undergo oxidation to Ag^(+)ions through electron loss,and the liberated electrons provide driving force for the deposition of WO_(4)^(2-).Enabled the fabrication of large-area WO_(3)films and ESWs were fabricated under minimal laboratory conditions,demonstrating the economic feasibility,efficient and reliable nature of industrial production.Structural characterization and density functional theory calculations were combined to confirm that AgNWs effectively regulate oxygen vacancies of WO_(3)films and promote the in situ growth process.The optimized WO_(3)exhibits a maximum transmittance modulation of 90.8%and excellent cycling stability of 20,000 cycles.The largescale WO_(3)-based ESWs can save building energy up to 140.0 MJ m^(-2)compared to traditional windows in tropical regions,as verified by simulations more than40 global cities.This research provides a new approach for improving the performance and industrial production of ESW,providing the full understanding and development direction to short the distance of the ESW commercial production.
基金the funding by the ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing with 2D Materials(ARC IH210100025)。
文摘Towards the development of highly efficient electrochromic coatings,the crystallinity,morphology(e.g.size and shape)of electrochromic nanomaterials,and their charge insertion capacities play a significant role.Herein,we report the structure-dependent colouration effciency in electrochromic coatings based on the use of 0D,1D and 2D tungsten trioxide(WO_(3))nanostructures.A series of WO_(3)with different nanostructures were prepared and used as working electrodes to fabricate electrochromic devices for smart windows applications.Facile spray coating was applied on fluorine-doped tin oxide(FTO)substrate to make~70%transparent working electrodes to investigate their charge insertion capacities,electrochromic active surface area,and colouration efficiency.Results showed that the 2D WO_(3)nanoflakes displayed the highest diffusion coefficient for the intercalation of 1.52×10^(-10)cm^(2)/s with an increased electrochemical active surface area of 25.10 mF/cm^(2),a large modulation of optical reflectance(42.63%)with 3.79 s shorter response time for bleaching and a greater colouration efficiency(CE)value(89.29 cm^(2)/C)at 700 nm compared to the CE value for 1D WO_(3)(of 22 cm^(2)/C)and 0D WO_(3)(8 cm^(2)/C).The outcome of this study provides a new insight and valuable contribution to design an efficient electrochromic coating by controlling and optimising the nanostructures of selective electrochromic materials.
