IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v15y2024i1d10.1038_s41467-024-45095-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A dual-selective thermal emitter with enhanced subambient radiative cooling performance

Author

Listed:
  • Xueke Wu

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Jinlei Li

    (Nanjing University)

  • Fei Xie

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xun-En Wu

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Siming Zhao

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Qinyuan Jiang

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Shiliang Zhang

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Baoshun Wang

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Yunrui Li

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Di Gao

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Run Li

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Fei Wang

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Ya Huang

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Yanlong Zhao

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Yingying Zhang

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Wei Li

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Jia Zhu

    (Nanjing University)

  • Rufan Zhang

    (Tsinghua University)

Abstract

Radiative cooling is a zero-energy technology that enables subambient cooling by emitting heat into outer space (~3 K) through the atmospheric transparent windows. However, existing designs typically focus only on the main atmospheric transparent window (8–13 μm) and ignore another window (16–25 μm), under-exploiting their cooling potential. Here, we show a dual-selective radiative cooling design based on a scalable thermal emitter, which exhibits selective emission in both atmospheric transparent windows and reflection in the remaining mid-infrared and solar wavebands. As a result, the dual-selective thermal emitter exhibits an ultrahigh subambient cooling capacity (~9 °C) under strong sunlight, surpassing existing typical thermal emitters (≥3 °C cooler) and commercial counterparts (as building materials). Furthermore, the dual-selective sample also exhibits high weather resistance and color compatibility, indicating a high practicality. This work provides a scalable and practical radiative cooling design for sustainable thermal management.

Suggested Citation

  • Xueke Wu & Jinlei Li & Fei Xie & Xun-En Wu & Siming Zhao & Qinyuan Jiang & Shiliang Zhang & Baoshun Wang & Yunrui Li & Di Gao & Run Li & Fei Wang & Ya Huang & Yanlong Zhao & Yingying Zhang & Wei Li & , 2024. "A dual-selective thermal emitter with enhanced subambient radiative cooling performance," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-45095-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45095-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45095-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-024-45095-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yuan, Jinchao & Yin, Hongle & Yuan, Dan & Yang, Yongjian & Xu, Shaoyu, 2022. "On daytime radiative cooling using spectrally selective metamaterial based building envelopes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    2. Zhen Chen & Linxiao Zhu & Aaswath Raman & Shanhui Fan, 2016. "Radiative cooling to deep sub-freezing temperatures through a 24-h day–night cycle," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-5, December.
    3. Lyu Zhou & Haomin Song & Jianwei Liang & Matthew Singer & Ming Zhou & Edgars Stegenburgs & Nan Zhang & Chen Xu & Tien Ng & Zongfu Yu & Boon Ooi & Qiaoqiang Gan, 2019. "A polydimethylsiloxane-coated metal structure for all-day radiative cooling," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(8), pages 718-724, August.
    4. Jianing Song & Wenluan Zhang & Zhengnan Sun & Mengyao Pan & Feng Tian & Xiuhong Li & Ming Ye & Xu Deng, 2022. "Durable radiative cooling against environmental aging," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Wei Li & Yu Shi & Zhen Chen & Shanhui Fan, 2018. "Photonic thermal management of coloured objects," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.
    6. Aaswath P. Raman & Marc Abou Anoma & Linxiao Zhu & Eden Rephaeli & Shanhui Fan, 2014. "Passive radiative cooling below ambient air temperature under direct sunlight," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7528), pages 540-544, November.
    7. Xueke Wu & Jinlei Li & Qinyuan Jiang & Wenshuo Zhang & Baoshun Wang & Run Li & Siming Zhao & Fei Wang & Ya Huang & Pei Lyu & Yanlong Zhao & Jia Zhu & Rufan Zhang, 2023. "An all-weather radiative human body cooling textile," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1446-1454, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yu, Tao & Liu, Rumin & Yang, Zixiang & Yang, Shikuan & Ye, Zhizhen & Lu, Jianguo, 2025. "Color Design for Daytime Radiative Cooling: Fundamentals and Approaches," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    2. Zipeng Chen & Qian Zhang & Liping Ding & Guangxin Lv & Tianji Liu & Zhengwei Yang & Yi Jiang & Longnan Li & Wei Li & Feng Ding & Weilin Xu & Jia Zhu & Bin Zhu, 2025. "An infrared-transparent textile with high drawing processed Nylon 6 nanofibers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dan, Ya & Hu, Mingke & Wang, Qiliang & Su, Yuehong & Riffat, Saffa, 2024. "Comprehensive evaluation of integrating radiative sky cooling with compound parabolic concentrator for cooling flux amplifying," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    2. Ziwei Fan & Taeseung Hwang & Sam Lin & Yixin Chen & Zi Jing Wong, 2024. "Directional thermal emission and display using pixelated non-imaging micro-optics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-7, December.
    3. Gong, Quan & Lu, Lin & Chen, Jianheng, 2024. "Progress in radiative cooling materials for urban skin: Achievements in scalability, durability, color modulation, and intelligent thermal regulation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(PB).
    4. Peoples, Joseph & Hung, Yu-Wei & Li, Xiangyu & Gallagher, Daniel & Fruehe, Nathan & Pottschmidt, Mason & Breseman, Cole & Adams, Conrad & Yuksel, Anil & Braun, James & Horton, W. Travis & Ruan, Xiulin, 2022. "Concentrated radiative cooling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    5. Pirvaram, Atousa & Talebzadeh, Nima & Leung, Siu Ning & O'Brien, Paul G., 2022. "Radiative cooling for buildings: A review of techno-enviro-economics and life-cycle assessment methods," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    6. Yu, Tao & Liu, Rumin & Yang, Zixiang & Yang, Shikuan & Ye, Zhizhen & Lu, Jianguo, 2025. "Color Design for Daytime Radiative Cooling: Fundamentals and Approaches," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    7. Wang, Xuanjie & Narayan, Shankar, 2022. "Thermal radiative switching interface for energy-efficient temperature control," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 574-582.
    8. Xu, Nuo & Wang, Jiacheng & Cui, Yubo & Ren, Shenghao & Deng, Jiangbin & Gou, Qianzhi & Chen, Zhaoyu & Wang, Kaixin & Geng, Yang & Cui, Jiaxi & Li, Meng, 2024. "Butterfly wing-inspired microstructured film with high reflectivity for efficient passive radiative cooling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    9. Lianhu Xiong & Yun Wei & Chuanliang Chen & Xin Chen & Qiang Fu & Hua Deng, 2023. "Thin lamellar films with enhanced mechanical properties for durable radiative cooling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    10. Geon Lee & Hyunjung Kang & Jooyeong Yun & Dongwoo Chae & Minsu Jeong & Minseo Jeong & Dasol Lee & Miso Kim & Heon Lee & Junsuk Rho, 2024. "Integrated triboelectric nanogenerator and radiative cooler for all-weather transparent glass surfaces," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Yan, Tian & Xu, Dawei & Meng, Jing & Xu, Xinhua & Yu, Zhongyi & Wu, Huijun, 2024. "A review of radiative sky cooling technology and its application in building systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    12. Xu, Weiping & Gong, Sihong & Wang, Ningsheng & Zhao, Wenbo & Yin, Hongle & Yang, Ronggui & Yin, Xiaobo & Tan, Gang, 2023. "Temperature reduction and energy-saving analysis in grain storage: Field application of radiative cooling technology to grain storage warehouse," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    13. Han, Tian & Zhou, Zhihua & Du, Yahui & Wang, Wufan & Wang, Cheng & Yang, Xueqing & Liu, Junwei & Yang, Haibin & Cui, Hongzhi & Yan, Jinyue, 2024. "Advances in radiative sky cooling based on the promising electrospinning," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    14. Dongpyo Hong & Yong Joon Lee & Ok Sung Jeon & In-Sung Lee & Se Hun Lee & Jae Yeon Won & Young Pyo Jeon & Yunju La & Seonmyeong Kim & Gun-Sik Park & Young Joon Yoo & Sang Yoon Park, 2024. "Humidity-tolerant porous polymer coating for passive daytime radiative cooling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Xuan, Qingdong & Yang, Ning & Kai, Mingfeng & Wang, Chuyao & Jiang, Bin & Liu, Xunfen & Li, Guiqiang & Pei, Gang & Zhao, Bin, 2024. "Combined daytime radiative cooling and solar photovoltaic/thermal hybrid system for year-round energy saving in buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    16. Quan Zhang & Yiwen Lv & Yufeng Wang & Shixiong Yu & Chenxi Li & Rujun Ma & Yongsheng Chen, 2022. "Temperature-dependent dual-mode thermal management device with net zero energy for year-round energy saving," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Bijarniya, Jay Prakash & Sarkar, Jahar, 2020. "Climate change effect on the cooling performance and assessment of passive daytime photonic radiative cooler in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    18. Zhang, Yelin & Tso, Chi Yan & Tse, Chung Fai Norman & Fong, Alan Ming-Lun & Lin, Kaixin & Sun, Yongjun, 2024. "A novel radiative sky cooler system with enhanced daytime cooling performance to reduce building roof heat gains in subtropical climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    19. Jianing Song & Wenluan Zhang & Zhengnan Sun & Mengyao Pan & Feng Tian & Xiuhong Li & Ming Ye & Xu Deng, 2022. "Durable radiative cooling against environmental aging," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    20. Zhang, Shuai & Jing, Weilong & Chen, Zhang & Zhang, Canying & Wu, Daxiong & Gao, Yanfeng & Zhu, Haitao, 2022. "Full daytime sub-ambient radiative cooling film with high efficiency and low cost," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 850-857.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-45095-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.