Infrared Reflective Material via Sol-Gel Sintering
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for producing infrared reflective materials require a multi-layer sputtering process in a vacuum environment, making the production process complex and unsuitable for mass production.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the preparation of zirconium tungstate composite powders doped with antimony through a sol-gel process, followed by sintering in a temperature gradient and grinding to form composite tungsten oxide powders, which are then mixed with an acrylic resin to create an infrared reflective material suitable for normal pressure application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multi-layer sputtering method is used to produce infrared reflective material, then infrared reflective performance is improved, but production process complexity increases and vacuum environment is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the production parameters from vacuum sputtering environment to normal pressure sol-gel process, and from multi-layer deposition to single-layer coating. This parameter change eliminates the need for vacuum equipment and complex multi-step processing while achieving the same infrared reflective performance through chemical composition optimization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical sputtering deposition process with a chemical sol-gel process. Instead of physically depositing layers through vacuum sputtering, the invention uses chemical reactions to form composite powders that are then coated onto substrates, simplifying the equipment requirements and production process
2Reliability
If multi-layer sputtering method is used to produce infrared reflective material, then infrared reflective performance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases due to vacuum environment requirement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the production parameters from vacuum sputtering environment to normal pressure sol-gel process, and from multi-layer deposition to single-layer coating. This parameter change eliminates the need for vacuum equipment and complex multi-step processing while achieving the same infrared reflective performance through chemical composition optimization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical sputtering deposition process with a chemical sol-gel process. Instead of physically depositing layers through vacuum sputtering, the invention uses chemical reactions to form composite powders that are then coated onto substrates, simplifying the equipment requirements and production process
3Reliability
If conventional multi-layer sputtering method is used, then total reflection effect is achieved, but production time increases and mass production is not suitable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the production process into independent steps: preparation of composite powders through sol-gel, sintering to form final composite structure, and coating application. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently and enables parallel processing, significantly increasing production speed while maintaining the total reflection effect
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary preparation of composite powders through sol-gel process before the final sintering and coating steps. This preliminary action pre-mixes and pre-processes the materials, eliminating the need for complex multi-layer deposition during final production and enabling faster manufacturing while achieving the same optical performance
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method produces an infrared reflective material with an infrared reflective rate greater than 80% within the 800 nm to 2,500 nm wavelength range, reducing production complexity and enabling mass production under normal pressure conditions.
Implementation Method 1
mixing antimony and zirconium tungstate through a sol-gel manner to form a plurality of zirconium tungstate composite powders doped with the antimony
Implementation Method 2
sintering the zirconium tungstate composite powders doped with the antimony in a temperature gradient within a range from 500° C. to 1,100° C. for a predetermined time period, so that the antimony and the zirconium tungstate in the zirconium tungstate composite powders doped with the antimony bond to each other
Data Source
AI summary
An infrared reflective material, a method for producing the same, and an infrared reflective structure are provided. The method includes a preparation step implemented by mixing antimony and zirconium tungstate through a sol-gel manner to form zirconium tungstate composite powders doped with the antimony; a sintering step implemented by sintering the antimony and the zirconium tungstate in the zirconium tungstate composite powders doped with the antimony in a temperature gradient within a range from 500° C. to 1,100° C. for a predetermined time period, so that the antimony and the zirconium tungstate in the zirconium tungstate composite powders doped with the antimony bond together to form into composite tungsten oxide powders; a grinding step implemented by grinding the composite tungsten oxide powders; and a mixing step implemented by mixing the composite tungsten oxide powders that are grinded into an acrylic resin to form the infrared reflective material.