Thermal Barrier Coatings Based on Alumina Microparticles

Buildings are large consumers of energy everywhere and a substantial share of energy goes to heat and cool buildings. This heating and air-conditioning load can be reduced through many means; a notable possibility is the proper design and selection of the building envelope. Therefore the use of thermal insulation in buildings contributes to reducing the annual energy cost. The objective of this paper is to present a new coating based on waterborne matrix, which is modified with gamma-alumina to form an inorganic–organic composite paint. Characterizations and performance, in terms of thermal conductivity,are presented. Due to both the high surface area of particles and the presence of interstitial cavities in the thin film, the product seems to be very interesting as insulation material.