Ventanas inteligentes: diseño de recubrimientos basados en Dióxido de Vanadio termocrómico sobre vidrio ajustados a necesidades del trópico

Thermochromic smart windows have been extensively investigated due to their advantages: first, the comfort
of people in a room by avoiding high temperatures resulting from solar heating while allowing visible light to
be used and second, the energy efficiency savings they offer since they avoid the use of heating and artificial
light.
Vanadium Dioxide (VO2) is one of the most widely used materials in the development of thermochromic
devices as it presents a semiconductor-metal transition in which reflection increases in the infrared range of
the solar spectrum when reaching 68 °C, thus Internal heating of the building is avoided, and at the same
time the passage of the visible part of the solar spectrum is left practically unaltered. This transition
temperature can be lowered through a synthesis process that includes doping with Tungsten (W).
The countries located in the tropics show little use of these technologies, although studies indicate that due
to their characteristics of solar illumination and temperature they could benefit greatly. To optimize and
achieve maximum benefit, it is necessary to design a window that is suitable for tropical conditions while
remaining affordable for extensive deployment. The use of VO2 particles is one option, but literature studies
by this team show that there are few materials science-based solution efforts directed specifically at the
climatic needs of the tropics.
The purpose of this proposal is to take advantage of the experience developed by this research team during
the project that is currently being developed (Smart Windows: Applications to energy efficiency in the
architectural design of facades) and in which satisfactory results have been achieved, such as the synthesis
of VO2 doped with W that shows a transition temperature close to 30°C, the manufacture of coatings in
polymeric matrix that maintain the thermochromic characteristics of VO2 and the coating of glasses of up to
10 x 15 cm2
in laminate. However, based on our tests, we know that for the designed coating to have greater
stability over time, and improvements in transparency and energy efficiency, considering the climate
conditions of the Tropics, the formulation of the thermochromic film should be further investigated by
studying different particle sizes, dopants, surfactants and polymer matrices.

Diseño de una película termocrómica basada en dióxido de vanadio que alcance una alta transparencia, estable
en el tiempo y con eficiencia energética ajustada al trópico.

1. Física aplicada
2. Física experimental