Indian scientists have developed an affordable, eco-friendly radiative cooling paint, specifically engineered to effectively cool structures like buildings, pavers, and tiles in hot weather conditions that can diminish electricity consumption and offer essential relief during sweltering summer days.
At the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru, researchers, led by Professor Bivas Saha in collaboration with Prasanna Das, Sourav Rudra, Krishna Chand Maurya, introduced this groundbreaking radiative cooling paint.
The work published in Advanced Material Technologies, a Wiley publication, can motivate industries to implement the radiative cooling paint for building cooling applications.
According to the International Energy Agency, using air conditioners and electric fans to keep buildings cool accounts for nearly 20 percent of the total electricity used in buildings around the world; while space and water heating account for almost half
Developed from a novel MgO-PVDF polymer nanocomposite, this low-cost, solution-processed paint demonstrates significant cooling capabilities with an high solar reflectivity and infrared thermal emissivity. The experimental findings by scientists of JNCASR, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have shown that the surface temperature of a treated paver decreases by approximately 10°C under intense sunlight-- almost double of the reduction that conventional white paints give.
The researchers developed polymer nanocomposite paint by using a simple solution-processed technique. They used ultra-white and ultra-emissive magnesium oxide (MgO)-polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nano-composite prepared from materials that are earth abundant, cheap, non-toxic and non-harmful.
Initially, polymer powders were transformed into a solution using solvent and then, dielectric nanoparticles are dispersed inside the polymer matrix.
After preparation, different spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize the optical properties of the prepared polymer nanocomposite paint. By measuring the temperature of the paint using a thermocouple, excellent cooling performance was demonstrated under hot sunlight.
The nanocomposite paint exhibits water-resistant hydrophobic properties and can be easily coated on pavers, wood sticks and so on with high uniformity and good adhesion.
