Preparation and thermochromic property of VO2/mica pigments

Thermochromic VO2/mica pigments were fabricated by an aqueous sol–gel and spray-drying method. XRD and SEM were used to investigate the structure and morphology of pigments, and the results show that the VO2 layer was composed of randomly oriented worm-like particles less than 300 nm in width. A thermochromic composite was prepared with the pigments and UV curing resin. The infrared transmittance change in the composite was measured from 24 °C to 100 °C by FTIR, showing very good thermochromic performance. The composite exhibits a transmittance of 50–55% in the visible range.