Sustainable PDMS-TiO2 material for daytime radiative cooling

In the context of global warming and the significant increase in energy consumption for building refrigeration, radiative cooling technology as a passive cooling method that needs no energy input has become more and more important. Radiative cooling materials must have high reflectivity in the solar spectrum (0.25-2.5 mu m) and high mid-infrared emissivity in the atmospheric window (8-13 mu m). This paper reports a sustainable porous polydimethylsiloxane based material, innovatively adding TiO2 to the the common preparation process. It has a highest emissivity of 95% in the atmospheric window in simulation. Outdoor tests were conducted in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China under two weather conditions instead of one in other related articles. This material achieved a maximum temperature drop of 15.98 degrees C compared to the blank group and 4.7 degrees C compared to the ambient temperature. This research can advance research in the field of radiative cooling and demonstrate a promotion effect on future material research and performance improvement.