Sub-ambient Temperatures Research Articles

Harnessing the synergy of ZrO2 and SiO2 dielectric micro-/nanoparticles in polymer-based photonic films for robust passive daytime radiative cooling

Polymer-based materials emerge as promising building blocks for passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) due to their affordability and ease of production. Enhancing these polymers with inorganic particle doping has shown to boost their mechanical properties and light scattering ability, a result of the increased refractive index contrast with air. However, the incorporation of a single type of inorganic particle often falls short in optimizing overall performance. Herein, we introduce a novel approach by simultaneously integrating high refractive index zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) and wide band gap silicon dioxide (SiO2) dielectric particles into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. This dual-particle strategy synergistically improves the radiative cooling capabilities of the resulting photonic film. Remarkably, with a thickness of 1,000 μm, it achieves an impressive 96.7% reflection of solar irradiance, while maintaining a high emissivity of 95.2% in the atmospheric window. Under solar intensity of ∼836.7 W/m2, it delivers an average cooling power of 82.42 W/m2, achieving a substantial sub-ambient temperature drop of up to 8.26 °C. We further explored its effectiveness in enhancing freshwater collection efficiency, leveraging its radiative cooling properties. Furthermore, the photonic film also exhibits versatile properties including flexibility, hydrophobicity, thermal stability, color scalability, and weather resistance, thus enhancing its suitability for various practical applications.

The NaClO4-water eutectic electrolyte for environmentally friendly electrical double-layer capacitors operating at low temperature

Herein, owing to its remarkable ionic conductivity, the 8.84 mol kg−1 NaClO4 water-in-salt (WIS) eutectic electrolyte is suggested for the low temperature operation of electrical double-layer capacitors down to -35 °C. Molecular dynamic simulations reveal that the local structure of the solution remains relatively stable from RT to -35 °C, with distinct channel-like domains formed by hydrogen-bonded water molecules, which facilitate the ionic diffusion within the bulk of the electrolyte. Interestingly, on activated carbon (AC) electrodes, the electrolyte demonstrates an electrochemical stability window (ESW) increasing from 1.8 V to 2.1 V as temperature decreases from 25 °C to -35 °C. The high ESW of this electrolyte is due to i) pH close to neutrality enabling high overpotential of water reduction on porous AC electrodes; ii) WIS characteristics with a reduced amount of free water in the Stern layer under positive polarization of AC; iii) higher oxidation potential at low temperature ascribed to the enhanced immobilization of the ClO4− anions in the Stern layer as well as reduced diffusion of water molecules in the AC electrode porosity. The electrochemical investigations on laminate AC//AC cells in the NaClO4-water electrolyte demonstrate low values of their resistive components down to -30 °C, while the devices can operate with rated voltage of 2.0 V and 1.7 V at -30 °C and RT, respectively. At -30 °C and under discharge power as high as 10 kW kg−1, the AC//AC capacitor in the NaClO4-water electrolyte outperforms the specific output energy of a traditional AC//AC cell in the 1 M TEABF4/ACN electrolyte. Hence, for sub-ambient temperatures, the presented environmentally friendly EDLC holds promise to compete with traditional devices implementing an organic electrolyte.

Controllable-gradient-porous cooling materials driven by multistage solvent displacement method

Passive radiative cooling holds significant potential for efficiently cooling terrestrial objects by simultaneously reflecting sunlight and radiating heat to the cold outer space. Numerous studies have designed high-performance radiative cooling structures using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) due to its inherent extinction coefficient.However, obtaining highly favorable spectral characteristics for reflecting sunlight using PMMA, often done through the fabrication of micro/nanoscale structures, remains a central barrier for widespread application. Herein, we report a facile, economical, and scalable multistage solvent displacement-based method for fabricating hierarchically gradient porous PMMA metafilms with highly efficient daytime and nighttime passive radiative cooling performance. Here, the “ouzo effect” works as the driving force for micro/nanopore formation by solvent displacement, which also controls the size of the pores based on different solution ratios. The PMMA metafilm features an ultrahigh solar reflectance of 0.99 and superior mid-infrared thermal emittance of 0.97, which allows for the average and peak subambient temperature drops of 4.6 °C and 8.2 °C, respectively, along with an average radiative cooling power of 90 W/m2 during a 24-h uninterrupted thermal measurement. The hierarchically gradient micro/nanopore distribution of the PMMA metafilm significantly enhances the solar reflectance and thermal emittance within the atmospheric transparency window. Moreover,the multistage solvent displacement method is highly versatile and promising for fabricating porous structures, further offering a cost-efficient, eco-friendly, and sustainable manufacturing path for high-performance radiative cooling application.

Bio-based and fireproof radiative cooling aerogel film: Achieving higher sustainability and safety

Even though significant advantages in the energy-free regulation of temperature are presented, the practical applications of radiative cooling materials in buildings and human surfaces still involve many safety issues, especially for fire hazards of polymer-based materials. Meanwhile, renewable and environmentally friendly materials are urgently needed to develop suitable radiative cooling materials with no adverse environmental impact. Herein, a chitosan-derived composite aerogel film with high solar reflection provided by the addition of melamine-phytic acid (MA/PA) hybrids is designed and prepared, presenting radiative cooling and fireproof performances. The instinct deep-yellow color of chitosan (CS) is successfully shielded by high-reflective MA/PA hybrids, while IR emissivity of up to 90.4 % and solar reflectivity of ∼ 89.3 % are achieved. In outdoor environments, this composite aerogel shows sub-ambient temperature drops of ∼ 4.3 °C and ∼ 3.1 °C in cloudless and cloudy weather, presenting a robust cooling effect. In addition, CS-MA/PA composite aerogel film with 3 mm thickness can isolate the fire of ∼ 500 °C, showing superior fire safety attributed to the synergistic flame retardant effects among chitosan, phytic acid, and melamine, which suppress the initial growth of fire and promote the rapid formation of protective char layer. This work provides a bio-based, fire-safe, and radiative cooling material to decrease the energy consumption of temperature regulation with a more environmentally friendly and safer approach, further promoting the practical application of radiative cooling materials.

High-Efficiency Thermal-Shock Resistance Enabled by Radiative Cooling and Latent Heat Storage.

Radiative cooling technology is well known for its subambient temperature cooling performance under sunlight radiation. However, the intrinsic maximum cooling power of radiative cooling limits the performance when the objects meet the thermal shock. Here, a dual-function strategy composed of radiative cooling and latent heat storage simultaneously enabling the efficient subambient cooling and high-efficiency thermal-shock resistance performance is proposed. The electrospinning and absorption-pressing methods are used to assemble the dual-function cooler. The high sunlight reflectivity and high mid-infrared emissivity of radiative film allow excellent subambient temperature of 5.1°C. When subjected the thermal shock, the dual-function cooler demonstrates a pinning effect of huge temperature drop of 39°C and stable low-temperature level by isothermal heat absorption compared with the traditional radiative cooler. The molten phase change materials provide the heat-time transfer effect by converting thermal-shock heat to the delayed preservation. This strategy paves a powerful way to protect the objects from thermal accumulation and high-temperature damage, expanding the applications of radiative cooling and latent heat storage technologies.

Dynamic simulation and control of dual-evaporator compression refrigeration systems

The need for refrigeration cooling at two different sub-ambient temperature levels is an important problem in some processes. A modern grocery store is an extremely important global example in which there is a need for a moderate temperature heat sink (5 °C) to keep food cool but also a need for a significantly colder heat sink (− 20 °C) for frozen food products. If the two temperatures are not too different, a single refrigerant can be used. The compression refrigeration configuration then consists of two compressors operating in parallel, a single condenser, a single refrigerant liquid surge drum and multiple evaporators. Liquid refrigerant at high pressure is split into a large number of parallel streams to feed individual evaporators in the cooling and freezing compartments. This paper studies how this multi-variable interacting dynamic system can be modeled and controlled using simple conventional controllers.

Micromechanical response of an electrodeposited NiP metallic glass by pillar compression under extreme conditions

In this work, the mechanical properties of pulse electrodeposited amorphous nickel phosphorous (NiP), with ∼16 wt% P, was investigated for an improved understanding of the deformation behavior of metallic glasses at extreme conditions, particularly at the microscale. Upon decreasing the temperature to sub-ambient, both the yield strength and the shear band density increase. While the change of yield strength with temperature can be well explained by a cooperative shear model, the increase in the number of shear bands can be related to an increase in potential sites for activation of shear transformation zones due to the enhanced structural heterogeneity at lower temperatures. This, however, hinders the percolation of deformation units and leads to a decrease in the shear band propagation speed, from ∼50 nm/s at 295 K to ∼20 nm/s at 195 K. By testing micropillars across seven orders of magnitude in strain rate, a two-stage strain rate sensitivity is observed, from nearly negligible at the quasi-static range (m1 = 0.001 ± 0.002 for 10−3 s−1 to 10−1 s−1) to highly positive at dynamic high strain rate range (m2 = 0.02 ± 0.004 for 1 s−1 to 1000 s−1). This transition implies a change in the yield-controlling process, from the diffusion-assisted relaxation at quasi-static conditions to the rate of energy barrier crossing of shear transformation zones at high strain rates. These findings highlight several distinctive features of microscale metallic glasses, including the reduced shear band velocity at sub-ambient temperature and the two-stage strain rate sensitivity.

Cu-doping induced tuning of magnetic properties and phase transformation in MnBi alloys

This study investigates the effect of Cu doping on the magnetic properties of MnBi alloy at sub-ambient temperatures. The Curie temperatures (Tc) were observed at 175.2 and 161.6 K for Mn52Bi45Cu3 and Mn51Bi45Cu4 alloys, respectively. The Mn55Bi45 sample demonstrates a notable saturation magnetization (Ms) of 72 emu/g, reaching 90% of the theoretical value, indicating the successful synthesis of high-purity ferromagnetic low-temperature phase MnBi. Compared to Mn55Bi45, all Cu-doped samples exhibit higher coercivity (Hc) within the temperature range of 10–200 K. In particular, the sample with 4 at. % Cu exhibits an Hc of 7.4 kOe at 10 K, which is 37 times higher than that of the MnBi sample (0.2 kOe), and it remains significantly higher than that of the 0–3 at. % Cu-doped samples, even at 200 K. Further details of this investigation are presented in this paper.

Highly efficient and versatile daytime radiative cooler based on optimized polymer-ceramic composite fabricated via facile process

Radiative cooling is a carbon-free, zero energy technology that can substitute various energy-consuming cooling systems such as air conditioners and auto-chillers for cooling heat-generating machines. Previous reports on radiative cooling have focused mainly on the cooling performance, thereby overlooking the applicability, structural complexity, manufacturing complexity, and certain physical properties of the cooler. In this study, we present an efficient, applicable, and facile-fabricated radiative cooler composed of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoro propene) (P(VDF-HFP)) and alumina (Al2O3). Apart from being fabricated in the form of a freestanding sheet with 97.5% solar reflectance and 94.8% infrared (IR) emissivity, the P(VDF-HFP)/Al2O3-based radiative cooler (PARC) can be applied to various solid substrates via simple coating techniques. This shows that the PARC can be introduced in architecture, clothing, and other fields that demand cooling. The cooling performance of PARC is experimentally proven by a sub-ambient temperature drop of 10.1 °C during daytime and the cooling power of the PARC is calculated to be 125.6 Wm-2 under the AM1.5 global spectrum, which is superior to that of previously reported radiative cooling emitters.

Bilateral passive thermal management for dynamical temperature regulation

Space heating and cooling of buildings account for ∼\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\sim $$\\end{document} 30% of energy consumed globally. As a result, efforts to reduce the carbon footprint associated with building temperature regulation are crucial to achieving sustainability goals. Passive radiative cooling and sun heating are two promising innovations that can help reduce the energy consumption associated with building temperature regulation. However, these methods are constrained by factors such as climate zones and seasonal changes. In this work, we demonstrate numerically that bilateral photonic metamaterials enabled by vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanoparticles embedded into polyethylene nanogratings can achieve dynamically modulate solar absorptance at one side in winter and achieve radiative cooling on another side. In cold weather, the solar absorptance of this metastructure can change from 0.93 to 0.2 at a critical temperature when VO2 changes from a metallic to an insulating state. This metastructure consists of broadband transparent polyethylene (PE) gratings on the reflective silver (Ag) gratings with the same period and filling ratio. These gratings are deposited on top of the Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin film. The VO2 nanoparticles enable dynamic solar absorptance modulation for winter space heating, while the PDMS with strong infrared emittance derived from molecular vibrations over the atmospheric window for summer radiative cooling. Temperature response simulations validate that this bilateral design achieves 6 °C subambient temperature drop at noontime in the summer and stabilizes its temperature around 22 °C during the daytime in the winter. This passive dynamical thermal regulation technique can be deployed for energy-saving targets of buildings, vehicles, and greenhouses in areas with large temperature fluctuations.

Diatomite-Based Recyclable and Green Coating for Efficient Radiative Cooling.

Radiative cooling is a promising strategy to address energy challenges arising from global warming. Nevertheless, integrating optimal cooling performance with commercial applications is a considerable challenge. Here, we demonstrate a scalable and straightforward approach for fabricating green radiative cooling coating consisting of methyl cellulose matrix-random diatomites with water as a solvent. Because of the efficient scattering of the porous morphology of diatomite and the inherent absorption properties of both diatomite and cellulose, the aqueous coating exhibits an excellent solar reflectance of 94% in the range of 0.25-2.5 μm and a thermal emissivity of 0.9 in the range of 8-14 µm. During exposure to direct sunlight at noon, the obtained coating achieved a maximum subambient temperature drop of 6.1 °C on sunny days and 2.5 °C on cloudy days. Furthermore, diatomite is a naturally sourced material that requires minimal pre-processing, and our coatings can be prepared free from harmful organic compounds. Combined with cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness, it offers a viable path for the commercial application of radiative cooling.

Construction of robust silica-hybridized cellulose aerogels integrating passive radiative cooling and thermal insulation for year-round building energy saving

Passive radiative cooling (PRC) is a promising carbon reduction technology that radiates heat into the universe through atmospheric transparency window (ATW) to cool objects below ambient temperature with zero energy consumption. However, so far the cooling efficiencies of most PRC designs are inevitably restrained by inadequate optical properties and parasitic heat gains from ambient air. These defects are overcome by developing aerogel coolers with functional integration of low absorption of solar irradiance, strong mid-infrared emittance, and high thermal insulation in one design. In particular, cross-linked silica-hybridized cellulose acetate is exploited to construct robust aerogels with well-arranged nano/micro porous structures, representing a solar reflectance up to ∼96 % and an ATW emissivity of ∼97 %. Such aerogels can realize a subambient temperature drop of ∼9.15 °C during the daytime and maintain their remarkable cooling performance even in cloudy, moist, and windy climates. The aerogel coolers also show excellent anti-aging, self-cleaning, and compression resistance, making them adaptable for long-term cooling applications. The year-round energy consumption simulations demonstrate that an average total energy saving of 13.87 kW m−2 per year can be promisingly achieved in China when the aerogel coolers are integrated on building roofs. This work paves a new way to manufacture more cost-effective and sustainable cooling materials for efficient building energy conservation in the future.

Ambient and sub-ambient temperature direct air CO2 capture (DAC) by novel supported in situ polymerized amines

Novel in situ polymerized amines and their promising potential for dry and humid ambient and sub-ambient temperature DAC are explored.

Thermally and electrically tunable infrared perovskite devices for alternatively cooling and heat energy harvesting

Radiative energy harvesting from the sun and outer space is a feasible pathway to develop novel low-carbon energy technologies. However, most reported radiative energy harvesting is discontinuous during the alternation of day and night. Herein, a simple intelligent device is designed for all-weather radiative energy harvesting by depositing bendable mica substrate through oxide perovskite. Under thermal excitation, the intelligent device exhibits a comparable infrared emissivity as the emissivity at the phase transition temperature of 323 K. Below the phase transition temperature, it is first reported that the infrared emissivity shows a significant electrically adjustable characteristic, which increases with the increase of voltage. Outdoor experiments demonstrate that the intelligent device can achieve a sub-ambient temperature drop of 8 °C with a harvested cooling energy of 62W/m2 at nighttime and a temperature rise of 75 °C with a harvested heat energy of 627W/m2 at daytime. More importantly, the bendable mica substrate provides good flexibility for devices, making it easy to attach to any flat or non-flat surface. This intelligent design promotes the development of bendable perovskite devices with alternating cooling and heat acquisition.

Software Solution for Moving Objects Identification and Tracking Individual Behavior in Studies of Fish Adaptation for Sub-Ambient Temperatures

Software Solution for Moving Objects Identification and Tracking Individual Behavior in Studies of Fish Adaptation for Sub-Ambient Temperatures

Scalable and sustainable radiative cooling enabled by renewable poplar catkin-derived films

Passive radiative cooling is a vital strategy for mitigating the greenhouse effect. However, the widespread use of synthetic plastics as the primary constituent raises environmental concerns of plastic waste. Addressing these challenges necessitates the development of radiative cooling materials based on natural and renewable resources. Herein, we utilize the abundant but underutilized poplar catkins, which are currently perceived as harmful, to fabricate a poplar catkin-derived (PC) film for radiative cooling. The PC film exhibits exceptional cooling performance, with a maximum cooling power of 75.3 W m−2 under an average sunlight intensity of 819 W m−2. Remarkably, the PC film achieves a sub-ambient temperature reduction of 6.2 °C during 9:00–13:00, within a similar solar radiation intensity. Additionally, the PC film possesses outstanding properties, including UV resistance, mold resistance, and renewability. Even after multiple regeneration cycles, the film experiences only marginal decreases of 0.9 % in sunlight reflectance and 1.4 % in infrared emissivity (8–13 μm). Furthermore, the resulting film demonstrates superior resistance to mildew compared to wood, highlighting its potential for long-term usability. This work not only addresses the environmental concerns associated with synthetic plastics but also harnesses the untapped potential of readily available natural resources to develop sustainable radiative cooling materials.

An environmentally friendly porous PDMS film via a template method based for passive daytime radiative cooling

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) is a green and energy-free passive cooling method by reflecting sunlight and radiating heat into the cold outer space through atmospheric transparent windows (ATW). High reflectivity and high emissivity are two vital factors affecting the cooling performance. In this work, an environmentally friendly porous polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) radiative cooling film was fabricated, which has 73.3 % solar reflectance (0.3–2.5 μm) and 99.7 % infrared emissivity (8–13) μm. Thus, the sample displayed a remarkable PDRC property by yielding an average temperature drop of 18.7 ℃ compared to the sub-ambient temperature at the solar intensity of 769 W/m2. At the same time, the film with hydrophobicity (132.92°) can decrease pollution caused by dust, which is significant for prolonging life and maintaining the performance of these films. This technique is simple and economical, and has the prospect of large-scale commercial application.

Understanding the Seeded Heteroepitaxial Growth of Crystallizable Polymers: The Role of Crystallization Thermodynamics.

Seeded heteroepitaxial growth is a "living" crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) method that has emerged as a promising route to create uniform segmented nanoparticles with diverse core chemistries by using chemically distinct core-forming polymers. Our previous results have demonstrated that crystallization kinetics is a key factor that determines the occurrence of heteroepitaxial growth, but an in-depth understanding of controlling heteroepitaxy from the perspective of crystallization thermodynamics is yet unknown. Herein, we select crystallizable aliphatic polycarbonates (PxCs) with a different number of methylene groups (xCH2, x = 4, 6, 7, 12) in their repeating units as model polymers to explore the effect of lattice match and core compatibility on the seeded growth behavior. Seeded growth of PxCs-containing homopolymer/block copolymer blend unimers from poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) core-forming seed platelet micelles exhibits distinct crystal growth behavior at subambient temperatures, which is governed by the lattice match and core compatibility. A case of seeded growth with better core compatibility and a smaller lattice mismatch follows epitaxial growth, where the newly created crystal domain has the same structural orientation as the original platelet substrate. In contrast, a case of seeded growth with better core compatibility but a larger lattice mismatch shows nonepitaxial growth with less-defined crystal orientations in the platelet plane. Additionally, a case of seeded growth with poor core compatibility and larger lattice mismatch results in polydisperse platelet micelles, whereby crystal formation is not nucleated from the crystalline substrate. These findings reveal important factors that govern the specific crystal growth during a seeded growth approach by using compositionally distinct cores, which would further guide researchers in designing 2D segmented materials via polymer crystallization approaches.

Unveiling the role of transition metal catalysts in low-temperature, liquid-phase isopropanol oxidation

Driven by the increasing need to optimize industrial chemical reactions through effective catalysts, this study reports the comprehensive oxidation process of isopropanol under liquid phase conditions at subambient temperatures, investigating the catalytic potential of transition metal oxides. The complete oxidation of isopropanol within the liquid phase at reduced temperatures was investigated, employing transition metal oxides as catalysts (Cr2O3, Fe2O3, NiO, and ZnO). These solids were prepared using the sol–gel method and the precipitation method. The results from structural (FTIR, XRD) and textural (BET) analyses were consistent with those reported in the literature. The employed solid substances exhibited favorable catalytic activity for the full oxidation of isopropanol, maintaining a consistent selectivity of 100 %, regardless of the temperature conditions under examination (40, 60, and 80 °C). These catalytic tests reveal that chromium oxide is a typical catalyst for this type of reaction. Furthermore, a kinetic analysis of the reaction was conducted, revealing that the reaction proceeds according to a sequential A-B-C mechanistic pathway. The low values of apparent activation energy for all the solids align with the high initial reaction rates in the studied temperature range. This study revealed the effective role of transition metal oxides, particularly chromium oxide, as catalysts for the total oxidation of isopropanol under liquid phase conditions at subambient temperatures, offering vital insights to enhance efficiency in chemical industrial processes.

Amine-functionalized MIL-101(Cr) fibers for direct air capture at cold temperatures using rapid temperature vacuum swing adsorption

Given that most of the world shows annual temperatures lower than 25 °C and some regions exhibit a large diurnal temperature difference in a single day, it is desirable to explore the CO2 sorption behavior of materials not only at ambient (25 °C) but also at cooler, “sub-ambient” conditions (defined here as < 25 °C). These cold temperatures may offer advantages for DAC such as higher gas adsorption capacities and lower absolute humidity, reducing concomitant water adsorption. Here, amine-functionalized MIL-101(Cr) fibers are evaluated at cold temperatures using rapid temperature vacuum swing adsorption (RTVSA). MIL-101(Cr)/cellulose acetate fibers loaded with macromolecular amines are evaluated as practical gas–solid contactors. As spun MIL-101(Cr) fibers show desirable properties for use as structured contactors such as high permeance and low pressure drop. Breakthrough and RTVSA experiments are conducted in the presence of humidity at sub-ambient temperatures to understand the CO2 adsorption and desorption behavior of the sorbent/contactor under conditions approaching practical operation. With optimized amine loading, the PEI-MIL-101(Cr) fibers give CO2 capacities comparable to the powder form of the sorbent, as well as sharp breakthrough curves at fast flow rates (1.4 m/s superficial velocity) suggesting the system is not limited by additional mass transfer resistances under the tested conditions. RTVSA shows fast desorption kinetics (14.4 mmol of CO2/g of fiber/h) at moderate desorption conditions, at 0.1 bar vacuum with temperatures below 80 °C. The entire cycle during RTVSA finishes in ∼ 25 min with ∼ 76 mol% CO2 purity as the product in this initial, modestly optimized study.