S. Ren
SUNY - Buffalo,
United States
Keywords: Aerogel, paint, thermal insulation, building
Summary:
Insulation paint material is an energy-critical component for interior and exterior thermal management structures in energy-efficient buildings, vehicles, electronics, and data centers. A longstanding pursuit for the paint and coating materials are the simultaneous thermal insulation, high light reflectance, mechanical stability and wear resistance together with a cost-effective and environmentally benign manufacturing. Here, inspired by the igloo’s porous snow layer with effective thermal insulation, we describe a hierarchical coating material composed of aqueous-based silica aerogel and TiO2 paint nanocomposite, which exhibits a low thermal conductivity of 0.029 W/m K, high visible reflectance of 90 %, and Young’s modulus of ~4 MPa with high abrasive resistance. This design and manufacturing principle could extend to a variety of insulation coating materials for energy efficiency and sustainability.