Sustainable PDMS–TiO2 material for daytime radiative cooling

In the context of global warming and the significant increase in energy consumption for building refrigeration, radiative cooling technology as a passive cooling method that needs no energy input has become more and more important. Radiative cooling materials must have high reflectivity in the solar spectrum (0.25–2.5 μm) and high mid-infrared emissivity in the atmospheric window (8–13 μm). This paper reports a sustainable porous polydimethylsiloxane-based material, innovatively adding TiO2 to the common preparation process. It has a highest emissivity of 95% in the atmospheric window in simulation. Outdoor tests were conducted in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China under two weather conditions instead of one in other related articles. This material achieved a maximum temperature drop of 15.98°C compared with the blank group and 4.7°C compared with the ambient temperature. This research can advance research in the field of radiative cooling and demonstrate a promotion effect on future material research and performance improvement.