Bioinspired passive radiative cooler with superior transparency and durability for energy-efficient building

Passive radiative cooling (PRC) materials can achieve effective cooling without energy consumption through strong light reflection and spontaneous infrared radiation, which is of great importance in mitigating global warming and energy crises. However, conventional PRC materials lack on-demand light transmission and efficient infrared radiation, making it difficult to meet the demand for high transparency and efficient temperature control in building coverage applications. Herein, inspired by the skin’s thermal management mechanism, a bioinspired passive radiative cooler (BPRC) with wavelength-dependent light modulation and unidirectional heat transfer is developed to achieve temperature control for transparent substrate. Remarkably, BPRC exhibits 89.5% transmittance in the visible band (same with bare glass). Furthermore, BPRC demonstrates a 34% higher UV blocking rate and 38% higher NIR emissivity compared to bare glass. The maximum cooling effect reaches 7.4°C under perpendicular illumination (radiance 653.35 W/m ² ). In addition, the adhesion between the bioinspired PRC film and the substrate is up to 0.5 MPa, ensuring the durability of BPRC in practical applications. This work offers a general strategy for the mass production of highly transparent PRC materials, with potential applications in energy-efficient buildings and photovoltaic systems.