Sustainable Radiative Cooling Materials Enabled by Engineered Lignocellulose

ABSTRACT Radiative cooling (RC) offers a transformative, zero‐energy pathway for thermal management, yet conventional materials are often stymied by intricate fabrication, high costs, and environmental toxicity. Lignocellulose‐mediated radiative cooling materials (L‐MRCMs) have emerged as a sustainable solution, but the field currently lacks a unified framework to navigate the trade‐offs between their multi‐scale hierarchical structures and the precise optical demands of the atmospheric window. This review addresses this gap by systematically elucidating the fundamental physics of RC through the lens of lignocellulosic engineering. The physicochemical challenges of transforming lignocellulose into high‐performance emitters, focusing on the synergetic coordination of solar reflectance and mid‐infrared emittance, were analyzed and summarized in depth. Furthermore, this work summarizes core design principles and performance benchmarks across diverse sectors, including energy‐efficient architecture, moisture harvesting, and personal thermal management. The main challenges hindering the development of L‐MRCMs are also outlined, along with potential strategies to overcome them, aiming to promote their commercialization and broader application in green technologies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Energy Materials
Published
2026-04-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.71007
Primary Topic
Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Sustainable Radiative Cooling Materials Enabled by Engineered Lignocellulose

Chuanling Si, Wei Liu, Guanhua Wang, Kun Liu et al.
Advanced Energy Materials
Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies
article

Sustainable Radiative Cooling Materials Enabled by Engineered Lignocellulose

Chuanling Si, Wei Liu, Guanhua Wang, Kun Liu, Wei Li, Chenyang Cai, Liyu Zhu, Ting Xu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Radiative cooling (RC) offers a transformative, zero‐energy pathway for thermal management, yet conventional materials are often stymied by intricate fabrication, high costs, and environmental toxicity. Lignocellulose‐mediated radiative cooling materials (L‐MRCMs) have emerged as a sustainable solution, but the field currently lacks a unified framework to navigate the trade‐offs between their multi‐scale hierarchical structures and the precise optical demands of the atmospheric window. This review addresses this gap by systematically elucidating the fundamental physics of RC through the lens of lignocellulosic engineering. The physicochemical challenges of transforming lignocellulose into high‐performance emitters, focusing on the synergetic coordination of solar reflectance and mid‐infrared emittance, were analyzed and summarized in depth. Furthermore, this work summarizes core design principles and performance benchmarks across diverse sectors, including energy‐efficient architecture, moisture harvesting, and personal thermal management. The main challenges hindering the development of L‐MRCMs are also outlined, along with potential strategies to overcome them, aiming to promote their commercialization and broader application in green technologies.

Advanced Energy Materials
Tianjin University of Science and Technology (CN), Nanjing Forestry University (CN), Weichai Power (China) (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, China Scholarship Council, Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City, Postdoctoral Innovation Project of Shandong Province, Tianjin Enterprise Technology Commissioner Project
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies
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