Scientists develop smart windows to clean air pollution

A team of Chinese scientists have developed a large-scale transparent smart window that can change light intensity while effectively capturing the particulate matter in smog, a study said.

The study published on Saturday in the journal iScience described a simple solution-based process to fabricate large-area flexible transparent windows with Ag-nylon electrodes for high-efficiency PM2.5 capture, reports Xinhua news agency.

It takes only 20 minutes to fabricate 7.5 square metres of Ag-nylon flexible transparent windows showing an optical transmittance of over 86 per cent, according to the group of scientists led by Yu Shuhong from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

The Ag-nylon mesh can not only change the indoor light intensity, but also purify indoor air as a high-efficiency PM2.5 filter.

The scientists found that the obtained Ag-nylon electrodes could be used as an ideal intelligent thermochromic smart window with excellent mechanical stability.

It remains stable after undergoing a bending test with 10,000 bending cycles with a minimum bending radius of 2.0 mm.

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Also, the Ag-nylon electrodes can remove PM2.5 by 99.65 per cent while remaining stable even after 100 cycles of PM filtration and a cleaning process, according to the study.

The design could lay the foundation for next-generation flexible transparent smart windows that can reduce air pollution.