<Review Paper> Smart Windows: Electro‐, Thermo‐, Mechano‐, Photochromics, and Beyond
We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Long Yi, Professor Lee Pooi See together with Prof. Yin Jie from North Carolina State University on the publication of an invited review paper on Smart Windows: Electro‐, Thermo‐, Mechano‐, Photochromics, and Beyond.This paper has also been selected and featured as back cover paper.
Buildings have consumed 30-40% energy in developed countries and glass is considered as the most energy inefficient part. This paper has summarized most recent progress in energy saving smart windows applications with perspective and outlooks discussed. Smart window project has been funded by National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.
Abstract
A smart window that dynamically modulates light transmittance is crucial for building energy efficiently, and promising for on‐demand optical devices. The rapid development of technology brings out different categories that have fundamentally different transmittance modulation mechanisms, including the electro‐, thermo‐, mechano‐, and photochromic smart windows. In this review, recent progress in smart windows of each category is overviewed. The strategies for each smart window are outlined with particular focus on functional materials, device design, and performance enhancement. The advantages and disadvantages of each category are summarized, followed by a discussion of emerging technologies such as dual stimuli triggered smart window and integrated devices toward multifunctionality. These multifunctional devices combine smart window technology with, for example, solar cells, triboelectric nanogenerators, actuators, energy storage devices, and electrothermal devices. Lastly, a perspective is provided on the future development of smart windows.
The paper can be found via this link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aenm.201902066
About the journal
Established in 2011, Advanced Energy Materials is an international, interdisciplinary, English-language forum of original peer-reviewed contributions on materials used in all forms of energy harvesting, conversion and storage. With a 2018 Journal Impact Factor of 24.884 (Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2019)), Advanced Energy Materials is a prime source for the best energy-related research. This Impact Factor confirms in numbers what was already clear from the content: that AEnM has joined Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, and Small as a top-quality journal.