TY - JOUR
T1 - Spider-Silk-Inspired Nanocomposite Polymers for Durable Daytime Radiative Cooling
AU - Yao, Pengcheng
AU - Chen, Zipeng
AU - Liu, Tianji
AU - Liao, Xiangbiao
AU - Yang, Zhengwei
AU - Li, Jinlei
AU - Jiang, Yi
AU - Xu, Ning
AU - Li, Wei
AU - Zhu, Bin
AU - Zhu, Jia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
PY - 2022/12/22
Y1 - 2022/12/22
N2 - Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) materials, that strongly reflect sunlight and emit thermal radiation to outer space, demonstrate great potential in energy-saving for sustainable development. Particularly, polymer-based PDRC materials, with advantages of easy-processing, low cost, and outstanding cooling performance, have attracted intense attention. However, just like other polymer devices (for example polymer solar cells) working under sunlight, the issue of durability related to mechanical and UV properties needs to be addressed for large-scale practical applications. Here, a spider-silk-inspired design of nanocomposite polymers with potassium titanate (K2Ti6O13) nanofiber dopants is proposed for enhancing the durability without compromising their cooling performance. The formed tough interface of nanofiber/polymer effectively disperses stress, enhancing the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix; while the K2Ti6O13 can absorb high-energy UV photons and transform them into less harmful heat, thereby improving the UV stabilities. Taking poly(ethylene oxide) radiative cooler as an example for demonstration, its Young's modulus and UV resistance increase by 7 and 12 times, respectively. Consequently, the solar reflectance of nanocomposite poly(ethylene oxide) is maintained as constant in a continuous aging test for 720 h under outdoor sunlight. The work provides a general strategy to simultaneously enhance both the mechanical stability and the UV durability of polymer-based PDRC materials toward large-scale applications.
AB - Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) materials, that strongly reflect sunlight and emit thermal radiation to outer space, demonstrate great potential in energy-saving for sustainable development. Particularly, polymer-based PDRC materials, with advantages of easy-processing, low cost, and outstanding cooling performance, have attracted intense attention. However, just like other polymer devices (for example polymer solar cells) working under sunlight, the issue of durability related to mechanical and UV properties needs to be addressed for large-scale practical applications. Here, a spider-silk-inspired design of nanocomposite polymers with potassium titanate (K2Ti6O13) nanofiber dopants is proposed for enhancing the durability without compromising their cooling performance. The formed tough interface of nanofiber/polymer effectively disperses stress, enhancing the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix; while the K2Ti6O13 can absorb high-energy UV photons and transform them into less harmful heat, thereby improving the UV stabilities. Taking poly(ethylene oxide) radiative cooler as an example for demonstration, its Young's modulus and UV resistance increase by 7 and 12 times, respectively. Consequently, the solar reflectance of nanocomposite poly(ethylene oxide) is maintained as constant in a continuous aging test for 720 h under outdoor sunlight. The work provides a general strategy to simultaneously enhance both the mechanical stability and the UV durability of polymer-based PDRC materials toward large-scale applications.
KW - durability
KW - passive daytime radiative cooling
KW - poly(ethylene oxide)
KW - potassium titanate
KW - radiative cooling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85142223204&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adma.202208236
DO - 10.1002/adma.202208236
M3 - Article
C2 - 36255146
AN - SCOPUS:85142223204
SN - 0935-9648
VL - 34
JO - Advanced Materials
JF - Advanced Materials
IS - 51
M1 - 2208236
ER -