Synthesis of ZnO@SiO2 core-shell structure-based thermal control coatings with enhanced UV irradiation stability

In recent years, core-shell structural materials have integrated the internal and external properties of materials, greatly improving the comprehensive properties of materials and attracting continuous attention in various fields. To develop an inorganic thermal control coating for surface radiators with low solar absorption and high spatial irradiation stability, this work prepared a core-shell structured pigment-based thermal control coating by sol-gel method and systematically investigated its optical properties as well as UV radiation stability. It was found that the optimal thickness of SiO2 in the shell layer was in the range of 17–77 nm, which had little effect on the optical properties of the core pigment. The solar absorption of the ZnO-based coating and the ZnO@SiO2-based coating were 0.14 and 0.15, respectively. In addition, the stability of ZnO@SiO2-based coatings is better than that of ZnO-based coatings under 1500 ESH UV irradiation dose.