Hetero-assembly design of 2D oxide nanosheets for tailored thermal shielding materials

We present a new approach for designing thermal shielding materials using two-dimensional oxide nanosheets. Our approach uses hetero-assembly design [(Ti_0.87O₂)_m(Cs_2.7W₁₁O_35−d)₂₀ (m = 0, 5, 10)] by overlaying high refractive index (n) Ti_0.87O₂ nanosheets with transparent conducting Cs_2.7W₁₁O_35−dnanosheets. Through proper design of the thickness of high-n Ti_0.87O₂ layers, we achieved the optimum thermal shielding properties with a high NIR reflectance (>46%), a high visible transparency (>76%) and a neutral color in an ultrathin form (<60 nm). Our nanosheet approach is of technological importance for exploring new thermal shielding materials