TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhancing the cooling properties of low-density polyethylene films by combining near-infrared reflective additives
AU - Monaci, Sharon
AU - Pucci, Andrea
AU - Picchioni, Francesco
AU - Versteeg, Fedrerique A.
AU - Ruggeri, Giacomo
N1 - Funding Information:
Research Project Functional Materials PRA‐2018_23 is acknowledged for funding. CISUP‐Centre for Instrumentation Sharing‐University of Pisa is kindly acknowledged for SEM measurements.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - In the last years, the rising temperature caused by global warming brought the research to find new efficient solutions to lower the temperature of buildings and reduce the consumption of electrical energy for air conditioning. In this work, we propose the combined use of organic and inorganic near-infrared (NIR) reflective additives in low-density polyethylene (PE) films as an accessible plastic coating with enhanced cooling features. Two ‘cool’ pigments, the inorganic Sicopal® Black (Si Black) and the organic Paliogen® Black (Pa Black), were investigated for black-tinted coatings, while TiO2 (TI) and glass bubbles (GB) were tested for opaque white coatings. The additive's size and concentration influence the composite processing, and their ultimate optical properties were determined in terms of total solar reflectance (TSR) and cooling effect under solar radiation. TI and GB dispersed in PE showed the highest TSR, whereas the organic Pa Black confirmed its superior reflective features with respect to the traditional carbon black (CB). Moreover, a significant increase in the TSR occurred when TI or GB was added to the black pigments (12.7% and 13.6%, respectively). TSR increasing led to a cooler black-tinted PE film under solar irradiation. When using reflective pigments, a cooling effect of about 10°C was measured with respect to the traditional CB.
AB - In the last years, the rising temperature caused by global warming brought the research to find new efficient solutions to lower the temperature of buildings and reduce the consumption of electrical energy for air conditioning. In this work, we propose the combined use of organic and inorganic near-infrared (NIR) reflective additives in low-density polyethylene (PE) films as an accessible plastic coating with enhanced cooling features. Two ‘cool’ pigments, the inorganic Sicopal® Black (Si Black) and the organic Paliogen® Black (Pa Black), were investigated for black-tinted coatings, while TiO2 (TI) and glass bubbles (GB) were tested for opaque white coatings. The additive's size and concentration influence the composite processing, and their ultimate optical properties were determined in terms of total solar reflectance (TSR) and cooling effect under solar radiation. TI and GB dispersed in PE showed the highest TSR, whereas the organic Pa Black confirmed its superior reflective features with respect to the traditional carbon black (CB). Moreover, a significant increase in the TSR occurred when TI or GB was added to the black pigments (12.7% and 13.6%, respectively). TSR increasing led to a cooler black-tinted PE film under solar irradiation. When using reflective pigments, a cooling effect of about 10°C was measured with respect to the traditional CB.
KW - cooling material
KW - LDPE composite
KW - NIR reflecting films
KW - total solar reflectance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85143986669&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/pat.5955
DO - 10.1002/pat.5955
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85143986669
SN - 1042-7147
VL - 34
SP - 1106
EP - 1117
JO - Polymers for Advanced Technologies
JF - Polymers for Advanced Technologies
IS - 4
ER -