Effect of hollow sphere size on heat shield properties of hollow tio₂/polyacrylate composites

Carbon spheres (CS) were fabricated using glucose as a precursor in the hydrothermal method. Hollow TiO₂ (H-TiO₂) spheres with 200 nm, 500 nm, and 1,200 nm were synthesized by CS/TiO₂ core-shell particles via a sol-gel and calcination method. H-TiO₂ spheres with nano and micron sizes were characterized using FE-SEM, HR-TEM, and X-ray diffraction. The CIE color coordinate, solar reflectance, and heat shield temperatures of H-TiO₂/polyacrylate (PA) composite film were investigated using a UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer and homemade heat insulation temperature measuring device. H-TiO₂/PA composites exhibit excellent thermal insulation since the hollow structure filled with dry air has low thermal conductivity and near infrared light reflecting performance. The thermal insulation increased with increasing the hollow sphere (HS) size on H-TiO₂/PA composites. The PA composite film mixed with H-TiO₂ filled with 1200 nm HS reduced the heat shield temperature by 26 °C compared to that of the transparent glass counterpart.