Self-adaptive integration of photothermal and radiative cooling for continuous energy harvesting from the sun and outer space

Xianze Ao(University of Science and Technology of China), Bowen Li(University of Science and Technology of China), Bin Zhao(University of Science and Technology of China), Mingke Hu(University of Science and Technology of China), Hui Ren(University of Science and Technology of China), Honglun Yang(University of Science and Technology of China), Jie Liu(University of Science and Technology of China), Jingyu Cao(University of Science and Technology of China), Junsheng Feng(University of Science and Technology of China), Yuanjun Yang(University of Science and Technology of China), Zeming Qi(University of Science and Technology of China), Liangbin Li(University of Science and Technology of China), Chongwen Zou(University of Science and Technology of China), Gang Pei(University of Science and Technology of China)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
April 19, 2022
10.1073/pnas.2120557119
Cited by 161Open Access
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Abstract

The sun (∼6,000 K) and outer space (∼3 K) are two significant renewable thermodynamic resources for human beings on Earth. The solar thermal conversion by photothermal (PT) and harvesting the coldness of outer space by radiative cooling (RC) have already attracted tremendous interest. However, most of the PT and RC approaches are static and monofunctional, which can only provide heating or cooling respectively under sunlight or darkness. Herein, a spectrally self-adaptive absorber/emitter (SSA/E) with strong solar absorption and switchable emissivity within the atmospheric window (i.e., 8 to 13 μm) was developed for the dynamic combination of PT and RC, corresponding to continuously efficient energy harvesting from the sun and rejecting energy to the universe. The as-fabricated SSA/E not only can be heated to ∼170 °C above ambient temperature under sunshine but also be cooled to 20 °C below ambient temperature, and thermal modeling captures the high energy harvesting efficiency of the SSA/E, enabling new technological capabilities.

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