Smart windows with nanoporous structures templated by liquid crystals

Abstract

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning of buildings account for about 15% of the global energy consumption, but about 20% of this building-related energy is lost because of inefficient windows. Greenhouse emissions associated with producing and using this energy contribute substantially to climate change. Is there a solution to this challenging problem? Starting from the physical principles associated with energy loss through windows, I will describe our development of visibly transparent, infrared-reflecting, thermally super-insulating materials that may replace or retrofit the inefficient windowpanes of residential and commercial buildings. I will discuss how production of such unusual transparent porous materials is enabled by mesoscale templating of orderly porous structures using lyotropic surfactant-based liquid crystals. I will discuss how these metamaterials can boos energy efficiency of windows and buildings in general.