A new breed of ‘smart windows’ are less expensive and toxic

For those of you not familiar with the term ‘smart windows’ it is the term used to describe a type of window that uses glass that can darken or lighten according to outside temperatures. Up until now that usually involved the use of toxic substances which resulted in glass windows that were very expensive and didn’t work all that well.

Now we have a new breed of these windows from a team of researchers in South Korea who say that they have overcome those problems and doesn’t use toxic elements.

Scientists Ho Sun Lim, Jeong Ho Cho, Jooyong Kim and Chang Hwan Lee utilized a polyelectrolyte copolymer, ions reacting with counterions (ions that have a charge opposite to that of other given ions, resulting in electrical neutrality), and solvents such as methanol. The result was dimmable glass that was inexpensive and less toxic to manufacture, while offering robust performance. It is also said to change tint quickly, going from being opaque to almost completely clear within seconds.

via GizMag

Still no mention of price so I imagine they are still going to be on the expensive side.