Bioinspired Passive Radiative Cooler with Superior Transparency and Durability for Energy-Efficient Building

Passive radiative cooling (PRC) materials can achieve effective cooling without energy consumption through spontaneous infrared radiation, offering significant potential for mitigating global warming and energy crises. However, the application of existing PRC materials in transparent building covers for daylighting is limited by inherent opacity, poor adhesion, and a significant decline of transmittance due to functional particles. Inspired by the hierarchical structure and thermal management mechanism of human skin, a bioinspired passive radiative cooler (BPRC) with wavelength-selective optical modulation and mechanical stability is developed for temperature regulation on transparent substrate. BPRC achieves 89.5% visible transmittance (comparable to bare glass) combined with 34% higher UV shielding and 3% greater infrared emissivity compared to bare glass. Under vertical irradiation of 653.35 W/m², the BPRC attains a maximum temperature reduction of 7.4 °C, with simulated energy-saving efficiency reaching up to 11.5%. Moreover, the BPRC exhibits strong adhesion to substrates with a bond strength of 0.5 MPa, demonstrating excellent mechanical durability. This work offers a feasible strategy for the mass production of highly transparent PRC materials with promising applications in energy-efficient buildings and photovoltaic systems.