X-MINING Windows That Block Heat While Allowing Light NIR Absorbing Materials

Carports, sunrooms and sunroofs made of polycarbonate resin (hereinafter referred to as PC) are used as window and roofing materials that take in sunlight and can eliminate rain and wind because of their light, toughness, and high transparency. Most of them, however, have a structure that prioritizes daylighting to maintain brightness, so in summer, the vehicles inside the car ports structure tend to become hot and uncomfortable due to the effects of sunshine.

For example, the temperature inside a car in the hot sun may rise to 65℃, and the surface temperature of the dashboard may rise to nearly 80℃.

Energy paradigm shift has happened due to the big earthquake happened in 2011 in Japan. Record-breaking heat waves are observed in various regions, and energy conservation and environmental measures against heat are great interest to the global economy.

Can’t we prevent summer heat and its backlighting while ensuring a bright space in all seasons?

Sumitomo Metal Mining’s Near-infrared absorbing material SOLAMENT™ has both high heat shielding and transparency.

*SOLAMENT™ is a material technology brand made from CWO™, nanoscale particles that have the unique ability to absorb NIR, invented by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. are covered by patents and trademarks in both Japan and internationally.

It means that SOLAMENT™ can cut light of wavelengths between 850 and 1200nm which is the source of sunlight’s heat, and maintains the brightness because of its high transparency.
In addition, it can be kneaded into PCs used for window materials and roofing materials, which were difficult with organic systems because of their high temperatures. Durability is also excellent, so you can maintain the long-life IR shielding performance of PC.

By using PC-based windows and roofing materials that contain SOLAMENT™, we were able to achieve a comfortable indoor environment while maintaining brightness and building design while cutting only light that causes room temperature increases.

We have also commercialized SOLAMENT™ masterbatch developed with our proprietary compounding and dispersing technology, which enables us to easily produce plastic glazing (resin glass) with highly dispersed nano-fine particles by simply melting and blending them together with raw resin pellets.

Thermal barrier plastic glass is lighter, tougher, and has more freedom in color and shape than conventional inorganic glass, so it is considered to attract more and more attention as energy environmental problems become more serious and interest and regulation of energy efficiency of buildings and automobiles become heightened.

Comparison of temperature rise with pseudo-sunlight irradiation

The ability of our Near-Infrared Absorbing Materials SOLAMENT™ such as to prevent room temperature rise in large glass buildings, preserve the aesthetics of buildings and tune them into various forms is also applicable to other fields.

Do you try to realize your creations and ideas with our Near-Infrared Absorbing Materials SOLAMENT™?