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Solvent-free fabrication of mechanically durable superhydrophobic film with regular hollow structures for passive cooling

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Abstract

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) is an emerging nonpolluting, nonenergy-consuming cooling technology that relies on high reflectivity in the solar band and high emissivity in the infrared band. As an outdoor-oriented cooling material, its mechanical durability and optical stability are of great significance for long-term application. Herein, we fabricated a superhydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane-based film filled with regular hollow glass beads simply by blending, coating, and drying without using any solvents, followed by surface sanding. The hollow glass beads made the film possess regular hollow structures enabling the surface to maintain the superhydrophobic and optical properties even after severe abrasion. The as-fabricated film boasts a solar reflectance of 96.0%, a mid-infrared emissivity of 97.8% and a water contact angle of 163.9°, and achieves a cooling effect of 11.7 °C under direct sunlight. Additionally, these films can be applied as coatings to various substrates and offer appealing features such as self-cleaning, chemical stability, and weather resistance, making them highly suitable for outdoor applications. The entire preparation process is nontoxic and does not involve organic solvents, thereby expanding the range of preparation methods and application fields for PDRC materials.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52103263, 52271249), Key Project of International Science & Technology Cooperation of Shaanxi Province (2023-GHZD-09), Key project of Science Foundation of Education Department of Shaanxi Province (22JY011), Key Project of Scientific Research and Development of Shaanxi Province (2023GXLH-070), Qinchuangyuan “Scientist + Engineer” Team of Shaanxi Province (2023KXJ-069), Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi Province (2020ZDLGY13-11), Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi (2023-YBGY-488), and Sci-tech Innovation Team of Shaanxi Province (2024RS-CXTD-46).

Funding

The Funding was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China, 52103263, Xiao-Jing Guo, 52271249, Jun Cheng, Key Project of International Science & Technology Cooperation of Shaanxi Province, 2023-GHZD-09, Chao-Hua Xue, Key project of Science Foundation of Education Department of Shaanxi Province, 22JY011, Xiao-Jing Guo, Key Project of Scientific Research and Development of Shaanxi Province, 2023GXLH-070, Chao-Hua Xue, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Land Reclamation Engineering, 2023KXJ-069, Chao-Hua Xue, Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi Province, 2020ZDLGY13-11, Chao-Hua Xue, Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi, 2023-YBGY-488, Jun Cheng, Sci-tech Innovation Team of Shaanxi Provience, 2024RS-CXTD-46, Chao-Hua Xue

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, 710021, China

    Shi-Qiang Lv, Chao-Hua Xue, Xiao-Jing Guo, Hui-Di Wang, Meng-Chen Huang, Chao-Qun Ma, Rong-Rong Gao & Yong-Gang Wu

  2. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, 710021, China

    Wen-Min Zhang

  3. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Biomedical Metal Materials, Northwest Institute for Nonferrous Metal Research, Xi’an, 710016, China

    Jun Cheng

  4. Shaanxi Gildland Science and Technology Company Ltd., Xi’an, 710021, China

    Jing Li & Hong-Wei Wang

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  1. Shi-Qiang Lv
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  2. Chao-Hua Xue
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Contributions

SQL involved in investigation, writing-original draft, visualization, methodology. CHX involved in conceptualization, funding acquisition, project administration, supervision, writing–review and editing. XJG involved in funding acquisition, project administration, supervision, writing-review and editing. HDW involved in data curation, methodology. MCH involved in methodology, validation. CQM involved in methodology, validation. WMZ involved in data curation, software. RRG involved in methodology, validation. YGW involved in data curation, methodology. JC involved in funding acquisition. JL involved in funding acquisition. HWW involved in funding acquisition, resources.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Chao-Hua Xue or Xiao-Jing Guo.

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Lv, SQ., Xue, CH., Guo, XJ. et al. Solvent-free fabrication of mechanically durable superhydrophobic film with regular hollow structures for passive cooling. J Mater Sci 59, 4252–4266 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-09500-z

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