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Protecting ice from melting under sunlight via radiative cooling
Jinlei Li1, Yuan Liang2, Wei Li3
1National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China.
Science Advances
|February 11, 2022
Summary
Protecting ice from sunlight melting is crucial. A new cellulose acetate film uses radiative cooling to effectively and sustainably preserve ice without energy use.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Thermodynamics
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Ice is vital for food preservation, sports, and ecosystems.
- Sunlight causes ice melt due to imbalanced energy flows.
- Passive radiative cooling offers a sustainable solution for ice protection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an effective passive radiative cooling film for ice protection.
- To utilize abundant and eco-friendly cellulose acetate for this purpose.
- To demonstrate the film's versatility across different ice forms and scales.
Main Methods:
- Designing a hierarchically structured radiative cooling film.
- Utilizing cellulose acetate as the primary material.
- Testing the film's performance in protecting various ice samples under sunlight.
Main Results:
- The developed film provides effective and passive protection against solar-induced ice melt.
- The material is based on abundant and eco-friendly cellulose acetate.
- The approach is versatile for different ice forms and scales.
Conclusions:
- Hierarchically designed radiative cooling films offer a sustainable method for ice preservation.
- Cellulose acetate-based films present a scalable and eco-friendly solution.
- This technology can help protect critical elements of ecosystems vulnerable to melting.
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