Dual‐band electrochromic smart windows capable of the spectrally selective modulation of visible (VIS) light and near‐infrared (NIR) can regulate solar light and solar heat transmittance to reduce ...the building energy consumption. The development of these windows is however limited by the number of available dual‐band electrochromic materials. Here, plasmonic oxygen‐deficient TiO2‐x nanocrystals (NCs) are discovered to be an effective single‐component dual‐band electrochromic material, and that oxygen‐vacancy creation is more effective than aliovalent substitutional doping to introduce dual‐band properties to TiO2 NCs. Oxygen vacancies not only confer good near‐infrared (NIR)‐selective modulation, but also improve the Li+ diffusion in the TiO2‐x host, circumventing the disadvantage of aliovalent substitutional doping with ion diffusion. Consequently optimized TiO2‐x NC films are able to modulate the NIR and visible light transmittance independently and effectively in three distinct modes with high optical modulation (95.5% at 633 nm and 90.5% at 1200 nm), fast switching speed, high bistability, and long cycle life. An impressive dual‐band electrochromic performance is also demonstrated in prototype devices. The use of TiO2‐x NCs enables the assembled windows to recycle a large fraction of energy consumed in the coloration process (“energy recycling”) to reduce the energy consumption in a round‐trip electrochromic operation.
A dual‐band electrochromic smart window assembled using a plasmonic oxygen‐deficient TiO2‐x nanocrystal electrode not only successfully overcomes the issues of aliovalent substitutional doping in dual‐band electrochromic applications, but also delivers the independent control of visible light and near‐infrared with impressive electrochromic performance and efficient energy recycling, which can significantly reduce the energy consumption of buildings and electrochromic devices.
Same-day delivery for online purchases is a recent trend in online retail. We introduce a multi-vehicle dynamic pickup and delivery problem with time constraints that incorporates key features ...associated with same-day delivery logistics. To make better informed decisions, our solution approach incorporates information about future requests into routing decisions. We also introduce an analytical result that identifies when it is beneficial for vehicles to wait at the depot. We present a wide range of computational experiments that demonstrate the value of our approach. The results show that more requests can be filled when time windows are evenly spread throughout the day compared to when many requests' time windows occur late in the day. However, the anticipation of future requests is most valuable when many requests' time windows occur late in the day. As a result of increased flexibility, experiments also demonstrate that the value of anticipating the future decreases when the number of vehicles or the arrival rate of requests increases.
The online appendix is available at
https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2016.0732
.
Radiative cooling materials spontaneously radiate long-wave infrared (LWIR) to the cold outer space, providing cooling power that is preferred in hot seasons. Radiative cooling has been widely ...explored for walls and roofs but rarely for windows, which are one of the least energy-efficient parts of buildings. We fabricated scalable smart windows using a solution process giving different emissivity (ε) at high (ε
of 0.61) and low (ε
of 0.21) temperatures to regulate radiative cooling automatically while maintaining luminous transparency and near-infrared (NIR) modulation. These passive and independent visible–NIR–LWIR regulated smart windows are capable of dynamic radiative cooling for self-adapting applications across different climate zones.
There is keen interest in the use of amorphous WO3 thin films as cathodic electrodes in transmittance-modulating electrochromic devices1–4. However, these films suer from ion-trapping-induced ...degradation of optical modulation and reversibility on extended LiC-ion exchange. Here,we demonstrate that ion-trapping-induced degradation, which is commonly believed to be irreversible, can be successfully eliminatedby constant-current-driven de-trapping; that is, WO3 films can be rejuvenated and regain their initial highly reversible electrochromic performance. Pronounced ion trapping occurs when x exceeds 0.65 in LixWO3 during ion insertion. We find two main kinds of Li+-ion-trapping site (intermediate and deep) in WO3, where the intermediate ones are most prevalent. Li+ ions can be completely removed from intermediate traps but are irreversibly bound in deep traps. Our results provide a general framework for developing and designing superior electrochromic materials and devices.
Perovskite‐based solar cells have attracted great attention due to their low cost and high photovoltaic (PV) performance. In addition to their success in the PV sector, there has been growing ...interest in employing perovskites in energy‐efficient smart windows and other building technologies owing to their large absorption coefficient and color tunability. The major challenge lies in integrating perovskite materials into windows and building facades and combining them with added functionalities while maintaining their remarkable power conversion efficiencies. Herein, advances that have been made in the application of perovskites to building‐integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) in four areas are highlighted: semitransparent windows, colorful wall facades, electrochromic windows, and thermochromic windows. In addition, the opportunities and challenges of this cutting‐edge research area and important roadmaps for the future use of perovskites in BIPVs are discussed.
The recent advances achieved in building‐integrated photovoltaics based on perovskite materials for four areas of applications, namely semitransparent windows, colorful wall facades, electrochromic windows, and thermochromic windows, are presented. Critical roadmaps on future developments of this cutting‐edge research field are provided.
Rare-Earth oxyhydrides (REH3-2xOx) are characterized by photodarkening when illuminated by photons having an energy exceeding that of the band gap. We propose that the film is segregated in hydrogen ...rich and hydrogen poor areas. Upon illumination, the excited electrons reduce the three-valent cations inducing an insulator to metal transition in the hydrogen rich entities. These small metallic oxyhydride clusters are responsible for the enhanced optical absorption. In the surrounding semiconductor matrix the photoexcitation induces a transition from p to n-type conductivity. This persistent photoconductivity is due to trapping of the holes by hydride ions. As a result, the Fermi level rises above the conduction band inducing a Burstein-Moss effect and a large increase in the conductivity.
This paper presents a study of the optical performance of window systems with embedded water layers, here called water-based windows (WBWs). Spectrophotometer measurements were performed on four WBWs ...prototypes, in addition to a single and double-glazed window. A numerical model was also developed to calculate the optical performance of multilayer WBWs, which was validated by laboratory measurement results. Furthermore, a parametric performance assessment of multilayer WBWs is caried out for windows using only clear glazing and layers of water and air. The results corroborate previous studies that the use of water in glazing ensures higher visible light transmittance (Tvis) values while it reduces solar transmittance (Tsol) rates compared to the same glazing without water. Increasing the thickness of a water layer in a WBW does not interfere in Tvis values, but decreases direct solar gain. Increasing the number of “glass-water” interfaces on a WBW has little impact on its optical performance. On the other hand, more interfaces of “glass-air” increases the glazing reflectance and reduces both Tsol and Tvis values. Therefore, different combinations of air, water and glass layers in a WBW can result in very different optical performance results. Last but not least, the optical performance of WBWs when varying the angle of solar incidence (aoi) showed the same pattern compared to single or multi-glazing with air.
•Combing water layers and air gaps increases the spectral selectivity of glazing.•An optical numerical model for simulation of glazing with water is presented.•Multilayer windows with water increase light transmission.
Immunotherapy has offered new treatment options for cancer; however, the therapeutic benefits are often modest and desired to be improved. A semiconducting polymer nanoadjuvant (SPNIIR) with a ...photothermally triggered cargo release for second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) photothermal immunotherapy is reported here. SPNIIR consists of a semiconducting polymer nanoparticle core as an NIR‐II photothermal converter, which is doped with a toll‐like receptor (TLR) agonist as an immunotherapy adjuvant and coated with a thermally responsive lipid shell. Upon NIR‐II photoirradiation, SPNIIR effectively generates heat not only to ablate tumors and induce immunogenic cell death (ICD), but also to melt the lipid layers for on‐demand release of the TLR agonist. The combination of ICD and activation of TLR7/TLR8 enhances the maturation of dendritic cells, which amplifies anti‐tumor immune responses. Thus, a single treatment of SPNIIR‐mediated NIR‐II photothermal immunotherapy effectively inhibits growth of both primary and distant tumors and eliminates lung metastasis in a murine mouse model. This study thus provides a remote‐controlled smart delivery system to synergize photomedicine with immunotherapy for enhanced cancer treatment.
A second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) photothermal semiconducting polymer nanoadjuvant is developed for enhanced cancer immunotherapy. Upon NIR‐II photoirradiation, the nanoadjuvant exerts photothermal effect to induce immunogenic cell death and on‐demand release of toll‐like receptor agonist, which enhances dendritic cell maturation. A synergistic action of photothermal immunotherapy thus occurs to inhibit the growth of primary and distant tumors and eliminate lung metastasis.
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