Reflective Paint Consisting of Mesoporous Silica Aerogel and Titania Nanoparticles for Thermal Management
Lu An, Donald Petit, Massimigliano Di Luigi, Aaron Sheng, Yulong Huang, Yong Hu, Zheng Li, Shenqiang Ren
Abstract
Thermal insulation paint material is an energy-critical coating component for thermal management in energy-efficient buildings, vehicles, electronics, and data centers. Long-standing pursuits for the paint coating materials are high thermal insulation and light reflectance, mechanical durability, and wear resistance. Here we describe an aqueous-based hierarchical coating nanocomposite composed of mesoporous silica aerogel and titania nanoparticle pigment paint which exhibits a low thermal conductivity of 0.029 W/m K, a high visible reflectance of 90%, and a mechanical Young’s modulus of ∼4.86 MPa with a high abrasion resistance. The hierarchical and hydrophobic nanocomposite coatings show robust thermal cycling and thermal resistance, resulting in an equivalent cooling power of 928 W/m2. The design and manufacturing principle reported here could extend to a variety of insulation coating materials to achieve energy efficiency and sustainability.