Improving the Performance of Sunlight-Driven Smart Windows

Abstract

We prepared two types of sunlight-driven smart windows, which consist of polymer/liquid crystal composite materials containing an azobenzene derivative with different molecular shapes, and evaluated their optically responsive properties. They exhibited high transparency in the initial state and showed optical switching to light-scattering state when exposed to sunlight. At this time, their transmittance decreased. Also, they reverted to the transparent state within few min in the dark. Furthermore, a range of switchable temperature was controlled by molecular shapes and concentration of the azobenzene moieties.