Scalable Colored Subambient Radiative Coolers Based on a Polymer–Tamm Photonic Structure
Tianzhe Huang, Qixiang Chen, Jinhua Huang, Yuehui Lu, Hua Xu, Meng Zhao, Yao Xü, Weijie Song
Abstract
Daytime radiative coolers cool objects below the air temperature without any electricity input, while most of them are limited by a silvery or whitish appearance. Colored daytime radiative coolers (CDRCs) with diverse colors, scalable manufacture, and subambient cooling have not been achieved. We introduce a polymer–Tamm photonic structure to enable a high infrared emittance and an engineered absorbed solar irradiance, governed by the quality factor ( Q -factor). We theoretically determine the theoretical thresholds for subambient cooling through yellow, magenta, and cyan CDRCs. We experimentally fabricate and observe a temperature drop of 2.6–8.8 °C on average during the daytime and 4.0–4.4 °C during the nighttime. Furthermore, we demonstrate a scalable-manufactured magenta CDRC with a width of 60 cm and a length of 500 cm by a roll-to-roll deposition technique. This work provides guidelines for large-scale CDRCs and offers unprecedented opportunities for potential applications with energy-saving, aesthetic, and visual comfort demands.