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There very white paint developed by Purdue University, a potential ally against global warmingcan be also used on cars, planes and trains. We told you about this special paint last year, when, due to its unique properties, it entered the Guinness World Record.
Capable of reflecting 98.1% of solar radiation While emitting infrared heat, this paint is capable of absorb less heat from the sun than it emitsthus allowing you to create surfaces that are cooled below ambient temperature, without consuming energy. With peaks of over 4.5 ° C below room temperature, this paint potentially allows you to cool a house using much less air conditioning.
In the past year, researchers have fine-tuned a new formulation that is thinner and lighter, characteristics that greatly expand the field of application. “I’ve been contacted by everyonecome on spacecraft manufacturers to architects to companies that make clothes and shoes“said Xiulin Ruan, Purdue mechanical engineering professor and developer of the paint.” Mostly they had two questions: where can I buy it and can you make it thinner?“
On the left the paint in its first formulation (0.4 mm), on the right the new thinner solution (0.15 mm)
The first formulation, based on barium sulfate nanoparticles, was at least 400 microns (0.4 mm) thickan adequate value “if you are painting a sturdy fixed structure, such as the roof of a building. But in applications that require precise dimensions and weight, the paint must be thinner and lighter”.
Ruan’s team began experimenting with other materials, eventually creating a nanoporous paint which provides for the hexagonal boron nitride as a pigment, a substance used primarily in lubricants. This new paint achieves nearly the same solar reflectance (97.9%) with a single 150 micron (0.15 mm) paint coat. The research was published in Cell Reports Physical Science.
“The hexagonal boron nitride has a high refractive index, which leads to a strong scattering of sunlight“said Andrea Felicelli, a PhD student in mechanical engineering at Purdue.” The particles of this material they also have a unique morphology, which we call nanoplatelets“.
“The nanoplatelets are more effective at bouncing solar radiation than the spherical nanoparticles used in previous cooling paints,” explained Ioanna Katsamba, another PhD student in mechanical engineering at Purdue.
The paint also incorporates air pockets, which make it highly porous at the nanoscale. This lower density, along with the subtlety, offers another huge advantage: low weight. The new paint weighs 80% less than barium sulfate paint, but achieves nearly identical solar reflectance.
The new paint has the potential to cool the exteriors of airplanes, cars or trains. This way, for example, a plane waiting on the runway on a hot summer day won’t have to run the air conditioning so much to cool the interior, thus saving a lot of fuel.
As for the marketing of the paint, Professor Ruan explained that discussions are already underway. “There are still some problems that need to be addressed, but progress is being made.”
“Using this paint will help cool surfaces and greatly reduce the need for air conditioning,” added Ruan. “This will not only allow you to save money, but reduce energy consumption and, in turn, greenhouse gas emissions. And unlike other cooling methods, this paint radiates all the heat into deep space, directly cooling our planet. It’s pretty amazing that one paint can do all of this. “
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