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Mesoporous Organosilica-Based Infrared Metamaterials for Radiative Cooling of Windows
Aryan Zaveri1, Susan E Ju2, Andrew R Tuokkola1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|August 13, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new transparent metamaterial for windows that selectively emits heat into the atmosphere. This material enables efficient radiative cooling for buildings, reducing summer heat gain and lowering surface temperatures.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Radiative cooling is limited on vertical building facades due to terrestrial heat gain.
- Conventional materials struggle to achieve net cooling on windows because of broadband infrared emission.
- A need exists for materials that selectively emit heat within the atmospheric transparency window.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a visibly transparent, long-wave infrared (LWIR)-selective metamaterial for windows.
- To enable effective radiative cooling for building facades.
- To investigate a new material design strategy for optical applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a mesoporous organosilica ambigel.
- Utilizing phonon-polariton resonances for selective emission.
- Experimental characterization and computational modeling of optical properties.
- Field testing of the material's cooling performance.
Main Results:
- The ambigel exhibits high and selective emittance within the 8-13 µm atmospheric transparency window.
- Material properties differ from fused silica, offering new optical design possibilities.
- Field tests showed a surface temperature reduction of approximately 0.5°C compared to conventional materials.
Conclusions:
- The developed LWIR-selective metamaterial is suitable for visibly transparent window applications.
- This material design strategy enables effective radiative cooling for buildings.
- The research opens new avenues for designing transparent infrared-selective materials.
