Issue 6, 2023

Physical crosslinked hydrogel-derived smart windows: anti-freezing and fast thermal responsive performance

Abstract

Thermochromic hydrogels are versatile smart materials that have many applications, including in smart windows, sensing, camouflage, etc. The previous reports of hydrogel smart windows have been based on covalent crosslinking, requiring multistep processing, and complicated preparation. Moreover, most research studies focused on enhancing the luminous transmittance (Tlum) and modulating ability (ΔTsol), while the structural integrity and antifreezing ability, which are essential in practical applications, have been compromised and rarely investigated. Herein, we develop a new physical (noncovalent crosslinked) hydrogel-derived smart window by introducing an in situ free radical polymerization (FRP) of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in a glycerol–water (GW) binary solvent system. The noncovalent crosslinked PNIPAM GW solutions are facilely synthesized, giving outstanding freezing tolerance (∼−18 °C), a comparably high Tlum of 90%, and ΔTsol of 60.8%, together with added advantages of fast response time (∼10 s) and good structural integrity before and after phase transition. This work could provide a new strategy to design and fabricate heat stimulated smart hydrogels not limited to energy saving smart windows.

Graphical abstract: Physical crosslinked hydrogel-derived smart windows: anti-freezing and fast thermal responsive performance

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
14 yan 2023
Accepted
22 mar 2023
First published
23 mar 2023

Mater. Horiz., 2023,10, 2004-2012

Physical crosslinked hydrogel-derived smart windows: anti-freezing and fast thermal responsive performance

G. Li, J. Chen, Z. Yan, S. Wang, Y. Ke, W. Luo, H. Ma, J. Guan and Y. Long, Mater. Horiz., 2023, 10, 2004 DOI: 10.1039/D3MH00057E

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