Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene Films
The cooling performance of nanoparticle (NP)-doped radiative cooling materials depends on the dispersion of the NPs in the polymer matrix. However, it is a technical challenge to suppress agglomeration of NPs due to their high surface energy, resulting in poor dispersion of the NPs in the polymer ma...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
|
| Series: | Crystals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/13/4/707 |
| _version_ | 1797605885908877312 |
|---|---|
| author | Chenlei Qiu Yiping Qiu Yinjia Zhang Lina Cui |
| author_facet | Chenlei Qiu Yiping Qiu Yinjia Zhang Lina Cui |
| author_sort | Chenlei Qiu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The cooling performance of nanoparticle (NP)-doped radiative cooling materials depends on the dispersion of the NPs in the polymer matrix. However, it is a technical challenge to suppress agglomeration of NPs due to their high surface energy, resulting in poor dispersion of the NPs in the polymer matrix. In order to optimize the dispersion of zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs in low-density polyethylene (LDPE), NPs were treated with atmospheric pressure plasmas for 30, 60 and 90 s. The ZnO NPs were dispersed in LDPE using a xylene solution method. The dispersion of the NPs was progressively improved as the plasma-treatment time increased, likely due to the roughened and perhaps also activated NP surfaces by the plasma treatment. This made the transmittances of the films decrease in the solar-radiation band and absorptivity increased monotonically in the high-energy band as the plasma-treatment time increased, while in the mid-infrared band, the films maintained a similar high transmittance to the untreated sample. The differential scanning colorimetry analysis revealed that the crystallinities of the plasma-treated NP-doped samples were similar to those of the untreated sample. The cooling-performance tests showed that the maximum temperature reductions of the films with NP plasma-treated for 0 s, 30 s, 60 s and 90 s were 6.82, 7.90, 9.34 and 10.34 °C, respectively, corresponded to the intrinsic temperature reductions of 7.27, 8.23, 10.54, and 11.40 °C, respectively, when calculated using Cui’s Model. The results of the current study show that a simple one-step atmospheric pressure plasma treatment to the ZnO NPs can indeed improve dispersion of the NPs in LDPE and lead to the greatly improved passive-cooling performance of the film. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:07:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cf53a0620dde4501a235c5c97dd30f74 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4352 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:07:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Crystals |
| spelling | doaj.art-cf53a0620dde4501a235c5c97dd30f742023-11-17T18:52:20ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522023-04-0113470710.3390/cryst13040707Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene FilmsChenlei Qiu0Yiping Qiu1Yinjia Zhang2Lina Cui3College of Textile and Clothing, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, ChinaCollege of Textile and Clothing, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, ChinaCollege of Textiles and Apparel, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, ChinaCollege of Textiles and Apparel, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou 362000, ChinaThe cooling performance of nanoparticle (NP)-doped radiative cooling materials depends on the dispersion of the NPs in the polymer matrix. However, it is a technical challenge to suppress agglomeration of NPs due to their high surface energy, resulting in poor dispersion of the NPs in the polymer matrix. In order to optimize the dispersion of zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs in low-density polyethylene (LDPE), NPs were treated with atmospheric pressure plasmas for 30, 60 and 90 s. The ZnO NPs were dispersed in LDPE using a xylene solution method. The dispersion of the NPs was progressively improved as the plasma-treatment time increased, likely due to the roughened and perhaps also activated NP surfaces by the plasma treatment. This made the transmittances of the films decrease in the solar-radiation band and absorptivity increased monotonically in the high-energy band as the plasma-treatment time increased, while in the mid-infrared band, the films maintained a similar high transmittance to the untreated sample. The differential scanning colorimetry analysis revealed that the crystallinities of the plasma-treated NP-doped samples were similar to those of the untreated sample. The cooling-performance tests showed that the maximum temperature reductions of the films with NP plasma-treated for 0 s, 30 s, 60 s and 90 s were 6.82, 7.90, 9.34 and 10.34 °C, respectively, corresponded to the intrinsic temperature reductions of 7.27, 8.23, 10.54, and 11.40 °C, respectively, when calculated using Cui’s Model. The results of the current study show that a simple one-step atmospheric pressure plasma treatment to the ZnO NPs can indeed improve dispersion of the NPs in LDPE and lead to the greatly improved passive-cooling performance of the film.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/13/4/707plasma treatmentnanoparticlesdispersionradiative coolingsolar radiation |
| spellingShingle | Chenlei Qiu Yiping Qiu Yinjia Zhang Lina Cui Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene Films Crystals plasma treatment nanoparticles dispersion radiative cooling solar radiation |
| title | Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene Films |
| title_full | Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene Films |
| title_fullStr | Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene Films |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene Films |
| title_short | Enhancement of Intrinsic Temperature Reduction for Plasma Surface-Modified Nanoparticle-Doped Low-Density Polyethylene Films |
| title_sort | enhancement of intrinsic temperature reduction for plasma surface modified nanoparticle doped low density polyethylene films |
| topic | plasma treatment nanoparticles dispersion radiative cooling solar radiation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/13/4/707 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chenleiqiu enhancementofintrinsictemperaturereductionforplasmasurfacemodifiednanoparticledopedlowdensitypolyethylenefilms AT yipingqiu enhancementofintrinsictemperaturereductionforplasmasurfacemodifiednanoparticledopedlowdensitypolyethylenefilms AT yinjiazhang enhancementofintrinsictemperaturereductionforplasmasurfacemodifiednanoparticledopedlowdensitypolyethylenefilms AT linacui enhancementofintrinsictemperaturereductionforplasmasurfacemodifiednanoparticledopedlowdensitypolyethylenefilms |