Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have developed a coating for windows that helps to cool interior spaces without obstructing views.

The transparent coating, dubbed transparent radiative cooler (TRC), was developed using quantum computing and machine learning.

Source: University of Notre Dame

The team constructed computational models of TRC, testing each possible combination of materials in under a second, and arriving at the precise combination and configuration of ultra-thin materials.

The ideal configuration arrived at, according to the Notre Dame research team, that allows visible light in through windows while keeping heat reducing light out features layers of silica, alumina and titanium oxide on a glass base and topped with a polymer.

The researchers determined that the 1.2 micron-thick coating outperformed all other heat-reducing glass coatings currently in development to modify conventional windows, which heat up interior spaces, thereby increasing air conditioning use.

The coating is detailed in the article, High-Performance Transparent Radiative Cooler Designed by Quantum Computing, which appears in the journal ACS Energy Letters.