Department of Physics, Facility of Basic Science, Imam Ali University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
In this study, infrared stealth fabric was prepared by a coating VO2/WO3 nanocomposite as a thermal camouflage pigment. WO3 nanoparticles were prepared by electrical discharge in liquid, and the VO2/WO3 nanocomposite was synthesized by a hydrothermal process with glycerin. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD results showed that both components had a monoclinic crystal structure. The SEM results showed that the WO3 nanoparticles were 42±7 nm in size, and the nanocomposite had a multidirectional quasi-plate morphology. In addition, infrared emission was investigated using a thermal camera and an infrared temperature sensor. The results of the thermal camera test showed that by adding VO2/WO3 nanocomposite to fabric, the temperature read by the camera could be reduced from 48°C to 28°C. This indicates that the VO2/WO3 nanocomposite can be used as a thermal camouflage pigment and can disrupt infrared emission-detection systems.
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