Bionic hierarchical metalized thermally responsive dynamic daytime passive radiative cooling nanocomposites

Abstract

Passive heat management technology holds significant promise in mitigating the fossil energy crisis. However, most current passive radiative cooling textiles merely reflect sunlight, causing unnecessary cooling in cold regions during winter and lacking dynamic control. Herein, we were inspired by chameleons to develop a temperature-sensitive passive heat management nanocomposite using a multi-layered assembly strategy. This nanocomposite consisted of the core layer of metal-coated fabric and the surface layer composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and organic temperature-variable material (OTM). When the nanocomposite contained 15 wt% OTM, the average reflectance in the cold (15 °C) and hot (30 °C) modes was 47.66% and 80.92%, respectively. Additionally, the average emissivity was found to be 91.64% and 91.31% in the cold and hot modes, respectively. Significantly, the nanocomposite demonstrated cyclic stability in multiple temperature response tests. In practical experiments, it effectively reduced the temperature within a car and a small wooden house model by 14.0 and 7.1 °C, respectively. Moreover, the nanocomposite facilitated the accelerated ice melting at a rate of 10.85 ± 0.3 g within 1 h. Additionally, the presence of a copper metal layer in the 15 wt% OTM nanocomposite was found to contribute to antimicrobial efficiencies of 56% and 38% against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), respectively. This nanocomposite possesses the potential to stimulate inventive designs in the forthcoming era of functional nanocomposites, owing to its dynamic radiative cooling, solar heating capabilities, and scalability.