New Glass Coating Cuts Energy Bills
Revolutionary Low-Temperature Boron Nitride Coating Promises energy-Saving Windows
HOUSTON, TX – A groundbreaking new coating technique developed by researchers at Rice University and their collaborators promises to revolutionize the energy efficiency of windows.By depositing boron nitride onto glass at room temperature, the innovative process bypasses the high heat typically required for adhesive coatings, offering a durable, transparent, and cost-effective solution for energy savings in buildings.
The novel method involves using laser energy bursts to strike a solid boron nitride target, creating plasma plumes that vaporize and then settle onto a glass substrate. This low-temperature deposition is a important advancement,as highlighted by Abhijit Biswas,lead author of the study and an expert in thin film synthesis. “From the synthesis point of view, coating boron nitride on glass is truly amazing and very exciting,” Biswas stated.
The versatility of this technique extends beyond glass. According to Professor James K. Gimzewski, a key figure in the research, the low-temperature boron nitride deposition coudl be adapted for a wide array of materials, including polymers, textiles, and even biological surfaces. Furthermore, scalable manufacturing methods like roll-to-roll chemical vapor deposition or sputtering could make commercial production a reality with further process optimization.”This broadens the request space for boron nitride coatings significantly,” noted gimzewski, the corresponding author on the study. His group at Rice has dedicated years to studying boron nitride thin film growth,drawn to it’s exceptional mechanical,thermal,and optical properties.
While boron nitride is generally less expensive than materials like silver or indium tin oxide commonly used in commercial low-emissivity (low-E) glass, researchers caution against direct cost comparisons due to differences in durability, processing, and technological maturity.However, the team anticipates promising long-term performance, notably in demanding environments where current materials falter.
To assess the coating’s optical clarity and energy-saving potential, the Rice team collaborated with Yi Long from the Chinese university of Hong Kong, whose group specializes in functional materials for smart window technologies. Long emphasized the coating’s superior durability in outdoor conditions as a key differentiator. “The high weatherability makes it the first outdoor-facing low-E window coating, with an energy-saving capacity that clearly outperforms the indoor-facing counterpart,” Long explained. “It could be an excellent solution in densely built environments.”
Shancheng Wang also made significant contributions, particularly concerning the energy-saving aspects. “The clarity level and promising low emissivity makes carbon-doped coated glass a competitive energy-saving option for cities like Beijing and New York,” Wang commented.
the collaborative effort included researchers from Arizona State University, Cornell University, and the University of toronto, alongside Rice University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
This research was supported by a multitude of organizations, including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research; Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Clarkson Aerospace Corp.; the Rice Space Institute; the Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research; the US national Science Foundation; DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory; the US Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program; the US Department of Energy; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; the Canada Foundation for innovation; the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; the Chinese University of Hong kong; the 2024 Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macau Science and Technology Program; and the Innovation and Technology Fund.
The content presented here is solely the obligation of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the funding organizations and institutions.
Source: Rice University