Active Plasmonics in Kirigami Configurations Toward High-Performance Smart Windows

Abstract

Architectural windows that smartly regulate the indoor solar irradiation are promised to economize the building energy consumption. Here we demonstrate a method for adaptive, broadband, and high-efficient solar modulation for energy-efficient smart windows through the active plasmonics in kirigami structures. We develop a kirigami-inspired elastomer containing plasmonic vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanoparticles, in which the geometrical transition and the temperature-dependent localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) present dominant controls in ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared regions, respectively. The active LSPR control via stretch-induced local dielectric changes is mitigated on kirigami metamaterials due to their unique strain distributions. This method was demonstrated a decent property in energy-efficient smart windows with a decent solar energy modulation (37.7%), surpassing the best reported passive and transparent VO2 thermochromism systems. This first attempt to integrate the plasmonics and kirigami may inspire developments in smart windows, building energy economization, as well as fundamental studies of plasmonic controls in metastructures.