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Biologically inspired flexible photonic films for efficient passive radiative cooling
Haiwen Zhang1, Kally C S Ly1, Xianghui Liu1
1State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
Summary
Inspired by longicorn beetles, new photonic films offer efficient passive radiative cooling. These bioinspired materials reflect sunlight and emit heat, promising advanced thermal management for electronics and wearables.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biophysics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Thermoregulation is crucial for life, with organisms evolving sophisticated mechanisms.
- Bioinspired materials offer a promising avenue for passive radiative cooling.
- Scalable, cost-effective production of high-performance photonic radiators remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and fabricate bioinspired photonic materials for passive radiative cooling.
- To mimic the thermoregulatory properties of longicorn beetle fluffs.
- To develop a high-throughput method for producing advanced cooling materials.
Main Methods:
- Investigated the dual-scale fluffs of longicorn beetles for thermoregulation.
- Fabricated a photonic film using a micropyramid-arrayed polymer matrix with ceramic particles.
- Characterized the film's solar reflectance, infrared emissivity, and cooling performance.
Main Results:
- The bioinspired film reflects ~95% of solar irradiance and has an infrared emissivity >0.96.
- Achieved effective cooling power of ~90.8 W·m⁻².
- Recorded a temperature decrease of up to 5.1 °C under direct sunlight.
Conclusions:
- The developed photonic film demonstrates high-performance passive radiative cooling.
- The material exhibits desirable properties like hydrophobicity, flexibility, and mechanical strength.
- This work advances the design and fabrication of materials for thermal management in electronics and wearables.
