Journal
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Volume 33, Issue 28, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202001228
Keywords
aerogels; broadband reflectors; buildings; liquid crystal; nanocellulose; photonic structure
Categories
Funding
- U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy award [DE-AR0000743]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The article reviews recent progress in developing advanced materials from nanocellulose for improving energy efficiency in buildings. These materials, derived from wood or waste, can be used to fabricate a variety of products such as photonic reflectors, aerogels, solar gain regulators, and coatings, with potential applications in building components.
One of the grand current research challenges is to improve the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings, which cumulatively consume more than 40% of the energy generated globally. In addition to improving the comfort of the inhabitants and mitigating the growing energy consumption problem, new building materials and technologies could provide a safe strategy for geoengineering to mitigate global climate change. Herein, recent progress in developing such advanced materials from nanocellulose, which is often derived from wood or even dirty feedstocks like waste, is reviewed. By using chemical and bacteria-enabled processing, nanocellulose can be used to fabricate broadband photonic reflectors, thermally super-insulating aerogels, solar gain regulators, and low-emissivity coatings, with potential applications in windows, roofs, walls, and other components of buildings envelopes. These material developments draw inspiration from advanced energy management found in nature, such as the nanoporous photonic structures that evolved in cuticles of beetles. Fabrication of such materials takes advantage of mesoscale liquid crystalline self-assembly, which allows for pre-designed control of cellulose nanoparticle orientations at the mesoscale. With the potential fully realized, such materials could one day transform the current energy-lossy buildings into energy plants on Earth and possibly even enable extraterrestrial habitats.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available