Vanadium dioxide and gold nanocomposite films for glazing application

Vanadium dioxide is a material with great potential as an intelligent glazing material. The technology is based on a metal to semiconductor transition (MST) where there is an associated structural change from the higher temperature rutile structure to the lower temperature monoclinic structure. This structural transition results in significant changes in optical properties and electrical conductivity. Hybrid aerosol assisted and atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition methodology has been utilised, to produce thin films of gold nano-particle vanadium dioxide nanocomposites. Good surface coverage is observed comparable to that of APCVD processes and a variety of different film thickn…

Hybrid Chemical Vapour Deposition: Gold and Vanadium Dioxide Nano-composites for Smart Windows

Functional Thin Films for Glazing Application

Vanadium dioxide is a thermochromic material with great potential for use in intelligent glazing. The thermochromic properties result from a metal to semiconductor transition (MST) where there is an associated structural change from the higher temperature rutile structure to the lower temperature monoclinic structure. This structural transition results in significant changes in optical properties and electrical conductivity. Various chemical vapour deposition (CVD) methodologies have been utilised, to produce thin films of vanadium dioxide. Different strategies are presented for the inclusion of metal dopants and the production of nano-composites. The use of a surfactant molecule, tetraocty…

Energy modelling studies of enhanced glazing.

The research on new “energy materials” is a very interesting field of study in the direction of energy saving control in the building construction sector. Lots of studies have been carrying on to develop new enhanced glazing, new synthesis and analysing procedures but simulating their real behaviour is often very difficult and expensive. The easiest way to test the energy performance of new enhanced glazing, in this work doped vanadium (IV) dioxide thermochromic glazing, is to simulate the way they would respond if they were installed in a building. The software used to perform such simulations is Energy Plus™ which is an energy analysis and thermal load simulation program. The aim of this …