DOE OSTI · 3022481
Solution-Processed Temperature-Adaptive Radiative Paint as a Thermal Imaging Sensitizer
Abstract
Thermography detects mid-infrared radiation from surfaces based on the Stefan-Boltzmann law, mapping surface temperatures and potentially revealing subsurface thermal activity. Recent developments offer an alternative strategy to traditional camera-based improvements: a thermal imaging sensitizer (TIS) coating whose emissivity increases sharply with local temperature, amplifying small thermal variations into high-contrast signals. Existing TIS structures are nanofabricated solid membranes and face significant challenges in fabrication complexity. Here, in this study, we present a solution-processed, liquid form of TIS, termed temperature-adaptive radiative paint (TARP), to address these limitations. TARP offers drastically reduced fabrication costs, scalability to large areas, applicability to curved surfaces, and an extended operating temperature range, while maintaining the function of temperature amplification. Application of TARP enhances small temperature contrast by more than 3 times, substantially improving ambient thermography and enabling broader applications such as detection of structural defects and hot spots in electronic components.
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Xu, Kai [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)], Li, Jiachen [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000203683551), Reichertz, Finnegan G. [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)], Guo, Ruihan [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000029724396X), Khelfallah, Nawel S. [BASF Corporation, Berkeley, CA (United States). California Research Alliance (CARA)], Zhang, Rui [BASF Corporation, Berkeley, CA (United States). California Research Alliance (CARA)], Javey, Ali [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)], Zheng, Rayne [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)], Wu, Junqiao [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000214980148). 2025-10-04. Solution-Processed Temperature-Adaptive Radiative Paint as a Thermal Imaging Sensitizer. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c03631
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