From Puglia a new promising material for intelligent coatings
Researchers from the Institute of Nanotechnology of National Research Council of Lecce (Cnr-Nanotec), in collaboration with colleagues from the Institute of Crystallography of National Research Council of Bari (Cnr-Ic) e of the University of Salento, have developed a new composite material with thermochromic properties, capable of varying optical properties such as colour, transparency and reflectance if subjected to temperature variations. The results of the study were published in the prestigious journal Advanced Materials.
The innovative material is based on polymer and perovskite, the latter, a crystalline compound whose name derives from the Russian mineral collector Perovskij. Metal-halogen perovskites are, in fact, among the most promising materials for optoelectronic applications thanks to their exceptional photophysical properties with which they are equipped and to a simple, economical and easily scalable production process.
“The thermochromic material is equipped with extremely interesting characteristics such as the reversible transition from a transparent state (transmittance > 80%) at room temperature to a colored state (transmittance < 10%) at high temperature; the very rapid coloring kinetics, in the sense that the coloring/bleaching process takes just a few seconds; the possibility of varying the color assumed by the material and the transition temperature by varying the type of perovskite used and, last but not least, the compatibility with different types of substrates, including flexible ones for portable and wearable devices, as well as deposition techniques including printing ", explains Vincenzo Maioranofirst technologist at Cnr–Nanotec and study coordinator.
In the laboratories of the Institute, the operating mechanism of the thermochromic process was demonstrated which is based on the reversible interaction between polymer And perovskite which, in turn, induces the composition and separation of the perovskite with consequent chromatic transition from a colored state to a transparent one and vice versa.
“The result achieved represents an important milestone in terms of technological and scientific innovation with possible implications in various application areas such as smart textiles, smart windows, in the field of advanced sensors and anti-counterfeiting systems”, he adds Luisa De Marcofirst researcher of Cnr-Nanotec who collaborated on the study. Patent coverage has been requested and already obtained for the new material produced in Italy, while European patent coverage is being evaluated.
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