New Thermochromic Coatings for Energy Efficient Windows

摘要

Thin films of thermochromic materials have different trans-mittance levels of visible light and solar energy depending on their temperature and are of considerable interest for energy efficient fenestration. This paper first discusses buildings related energy savings that can be accomplished by thermochromic films and other chromogenic technologies. We then summarize recent work on thermochromic VO_2-based thin films with particular attention to multi-layers of VO_2 and TiO_2 and to new VO_2:Mg films for which the doping gives significantly lowered absorption of visible light.