Materials science update: Nanofoam surface coating

Materials engineers at Australia's University of Sydney have produced a white paint-like coating that reflects ~97% of the sun's light. Under desert conditions indoors temperature could be kept up to about 6° C (~11° F) cooler due to reflected sun energy. In high humidity tropical conditions, the coating could keep indoor air about 3° C cooler.  Because the coating is cooler than surrounding air, water condenses as dew, allowing small amounts of fresh water to be passively collected, 390 mL of water per square meter/day (~13 fluid ounces per 10.8 square feet). If scaled up to the size of a whole roof, passive water recovery could supply most of a person's daily water use. Not a lot but also not trivial.

Water production is best in humid conditions, but also works in most desert conditions.

The coating is applied to a surface and it dries into a micro foam surface instead of a smooth surface. 

Microscope image of the foam-like surface

The coating looks like flat white paint on the surface. Its sun light reflecting power is due to its surface mircofoam structure. The coating is made of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene (PVDF-HFP) that reflects sunlight through microscopic pores. The tiny air pockets scatter sunlight in all directions without glare or a need for UV-absorbing chemicals, which can degrade over time. In 6 month testing, the material was resistant to degradation from sunlight and heat.


Coated panels in long-term testing 
on the roof of the Sydney Nanoscience Lab
  
Dyes can be added to the material to get non-white colors that still reflect almost as well as the base white material.

Scale-up to commercial quantities is now underway to produce coating for application with regular paint sprayers and rollers. 

References:




By Germaine: Scientist-lite 

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