Self-Powered Dynamic Glazing Based on Nematic Liquid Crystals and Organic Photovoltaic Layers for Smart Window Applications

Dynamic windows allow monitoring of in-door solar radiation and thus improve user comfort and energy efficiency in buildings and vehicles. Existing technologies are, however, hampered by limitations in switching speed, energy efficiency, user control, or production costs. Here, we introduce a new co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. 4267 - 4274
Main Authors Fall, Sadiara, Wang, Jing, Regrettier, Thomas, Brouckaert, Nicolas, Ibraikulov, Olzhas A., Leclerc, Nicolas, Lin, Yaochen, Elhaj, Mohammed Ibn, Komitov, Lachezar, Lévêque, Patrick, Zhong, Yuhan, Brinkmann, Martin, Kaczmarek, Malgosia, Heiser, Thomas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Chemical Society 25.01.2023
Washington, D.C. : American Chemical Society
Subjects
buildings
bulk heterojunction
cells
devices
donor-acceptor
dynamic glazing
Engineering Sciences
Fysik
Materials
Materials Science
nematic liquid crystal
Organic Electronic Devices
organic photovoltaics
Physical Sciences
polymer
Science & Technology - Other Topics
smart windows
spatial light modulator
voltage
dynamic glazing
donor−acceptor bulk heterojunction
nematic liquid crystal
smart windows
spatial light modulator
organic photovoltaics
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Summary:Dynamic windows allow monitoring of in-door solar radiation and thus improve user comfort and energy efficiency in buildings and vehicles. Existing technologies are, however, hampered by limitations in switching speed, energy efficiency, user control, or production costs. Here, we introduce a new concept for self-powered switchable glazing that combines a nematic liquid crystal, as an electro-optic active layer, with an organic photovoltaic material. The latter aligns the liquid crystal molecules and generates, under illumination, an electric field that changes the molecular orientation and thereby the device transmittance in the visible and near-infrared region. Small-area devices can be switched from clear to dark in hundreds of milliseconds without an external power supply. The drop in transmittance can be adjusted using a variable resistor and is shown to be reversible and stable for more than 5 h. First solution-processed large-area (15 cm2) devices are presented, and prospects for smart window applications are discussed.
ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/acsami.2c21727