Thermal and Photocatalytic Performance of Unsaturated Polyester Resins Modified with TiO(2) Nanoparticles as Panel Bodies for Vehicles

The transport sector is the fastest growing contributor to climate emissions and experiences the highest growth in energy use. This study explores the use of TiO(2) nanoparticles for obtaining photocatalytic nanocomposites with improved infrared reflectance properties. The nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing 0–20 wt% of TiO(2) nanoparticles in an unsaturated polyester resin. The effect of TiO(2) on the curing kinetics was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, showing a significant delay of the curing reactions. The thermal reflectance of the modified resins was characterized by UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry, measuring total solar reflectance (TSR). The TiO(2) greatly increased the TSR of the resin, due to the reflectance properties of the nanoparticles and the change in color of the modified resin. These nanocomposites reflect a significant part of near-infrared radiation, which can contribute to a reduction of the use of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Moreover, the photocatalytic effect of the TiO(2) modified nanocomposites was studied by monitoring the degradation of an organic model contaminant in an aqueous medium under UV light, and the reusability of the nanocomposites was studied with 5 cycles. The developed nanocomposites are proposed as a solution for reducing global warming and pollutant emissions.