2024 | Rong Liu, Shancheng Wang, Zhengui Zhou, Keyi Zhang, Guanya Wang, Changyuan Chen, and Yi Long*
Radiative cooling (RC) is a carbon-neutral cooling technology that utilizes thermal radiation to dissipate heat from the Earth's surface to outer space. This review focuses on the materials development for RC, emphasizing their design strategies, intrinsic properties, and structural formations. The main types of RC materials, including static-homogeneous, static-composite, dynamic, and multifunctional materials, are systematically reviewed. The design strategies for achieving high RC efficiency are discussed, focusing on spectral control and the manipulation of intrinsic material properties and structural formations. The review highlights the importance of low solar absorption and high emission in RC materials. Various structural designs, such as multilayer structures, photonic crystals, and hierarchical porous arrays, are explored to enhance RC performance. The review also covers the advancements in static-homogeneous RC materials, including polymers, inorganic solids, and gases, and static-composite RC materials, such as inorganic-inorganic, organic-organic, and organic-inorganic hybrid composites. The challenges and future trends in RC materials are presented, aiming to provide a roadmap for the development of advanced RC materials.Radiative cooling (RC) is a carbon-neutral cooling technology that utilizes thermal radiation to dissipate heat from the Earth's surface to outer space. This review focuses on the materials development for RC, emphasizing their design strategies, intrinsic properties, and structural formations. The main types of RC materials, including static-homogeneous, static-composite, dynamic, and multifunctional materials, are systematically reviewed. The design strategies for achieving high RC efficiency are discussed, focusing on spectral control and the manipulation of intrinsic material properties and structural formations. The review highlights the importance of low solar absorption and high emission in RC materials. Various structural designs, such as multilayer structures, photonic crystals, and hierarchical porous arrays, are explored to enhance RC performance. The review also covers the advancements in static-homogeneous RC materials, including polymers, inorganic solids, and gases, and static-composite RC materials, such as inorganic-inorganic, organic-organic, and organic-inorganic hybrid composites. The challenges and future trends in RC materials are presented, aiming to provide a roadmap for the development of advanced RC materials.