Thermotropic smart windows prepared with the zwitterionic hydrogels in electrolytes
발표자
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초록
내용
Smart windows are promising energy-saving technology that can adjust indoor temperature by adaptively controlling the incident sunlight. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) hydrogel is one of the typical thermotropic materials to fabricate smart windows, which exhibit a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) near 32°C. To vary the switching temperature of the PNIPAm-based hydrogels, in this study, zwitterionic hydrogels immersed in an aqueous electrolyte were prepared. While electrolytes weaken the hydrogen bonding between the PNIPAm chain, the intermolecular interaction between zwitterions brodens the transition temperature. By controlling the balance between two different ionic interactions, the optical switching temperature of the hydrogels could be finely controlled.