Hierarchical Superhydrophobic Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Membrane with a Bead (SiO2 Nanoparticles)-on-String (Nanofibers) Structure for All-Day Passive Radiative Cooling.

Abstract

Passive all-day radiative cooling has been proposed as a promising pathway to cool objects by reflecting sunlight and dissipating heat to the cold outer space through atmospheric windows without any energy consumption. However, most of the existing radiative coolers are susceptible to contamination, which may decrease the optical property and gradually degrade the outdoor radiative cooling performance. Herein, we prepared a hierarchical superhydrophobic fluorinated-SiO2/PVDF-HFP nanofiber membrane by a facile and scalable technology of electrospinning and electrostatic spraying. Due to the synergistic effects of the efficient scattering of nanofibers/micropores and the phonon polarization resonance of SiO2 nanoparticles, the membrane achieves up to 97.8% average solar reflectance and 96.6% average atmospheric window emittance. The membrane displays sub-ambient temperature drop values of 11.5 and 4.1 °C in daytime and nighttime outdoor conditions, respectively, exhibiting remarkable radiative cooling performance. Importantly, the unique bead (SiO2 nanoparticles)-on-string (nanofibers) structure forms hierarchical roughness that endows the surface with a superior self-cleaning property. In addition, the obtained membrane exhibits remarkable flexibility and mechanical stability, which are of significant importance in cooling vehicles, buildings, and large-scale equipment.