Magnetic-controlled dynamic radiative cooling and solar heating for advanced space thermal management

Abstract Deep space exploration equipment faces serious thermal environment problems, and radiative heat transfer is the only thermal management method, which makes developing efficient radiative thermal management technology urgent to improve the stability and safety of equipment operation in orbit. Herein, a magnetic-controlled device is proposed by dynamically flipping the Janus coating without contact for switchable solar heating and radiative cooling purposes. The Janus coating integrates an MXene solar absorber and a PDMS/Ag radiative cooler. A device is subsequently developed for experimental demonstration, which reveals that the device exhibits temperature control effects under different temperature regions (e.g., 5 K, 10 K, and 20 K) and different periods (e.g., short-term of 30 min and 12 h). In summary, this work provides a new way of thinking for the existing dynamic radiative thermal management technology based on the magnetic-controlled idea, showing considerable potential for radiative thermal management and serving for space equipment, including satellites, space stations, and spacecraft.