Solar control dispersions and coatings with rare-earth hexaboride nanoparticles

Nanoparticle dispersions of rare-earth hexaborides have been prepared using a media agitation mill and have been examined for optical properties. High visible light transmittance coupled with strong absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths suitable for solar control windows are reported for hexaboride nanoparticle dispersions with particle size dependence and the effect of artifacts. Nanoparticulate LaB6 shows the largest NIR absorption among rare-earth hexaborides. NIR absorption is considered to arise from the free electron plasmon resonance. On decreasing the particle size below 120 nm, both visible light transmittance and NIR absorption are found to increase gradually until the size of 18-26 nm when they reach the maximum, and then decrease again at below 18 nm. Zirconia contamination and formation of lanthanum oxide were found to be involved during the milling process, leading to small additional absorptions around 300 and 650 nm, respectively.