A wearable textile that is engineered
to reflect incoming sunlight and allow the transmission of mid-infrared
radiation simultaneously would have a great impact on the human body’s
thermal regulation in an outdoor environment. However, developing
such a textile is a tough challenge. Using nanoparticle-doped polymer
(zinc oxide and polyethylene) materials and electrospinning technology,
we have developed a nanofabric with the desired optical properties
and good applicability. The nanofabric offers a cool fibrous structure
with outstanding solar reflectivity (91%) and mid-infrared transmissivity
(81%). In an outdoor field test under exposure of direct sunlight,
the nanofabric was demonstrated to reduce the simulated skin temperature
by 9 °C when compared to skin covered by a cotton textile. A
heat-transfer model is also established to numerically assess the
cooling performance of the nanofabric as a function of various climate
factors, including solar intensity, ambient air temperature, atmospheric
emission, wind speed, and parasitic heat loss rate. The results indicate
that the nanofabric can completely release the human body from unwanted
heat stress in most conditions, providing an additional cooling effect
as well as demonstrating worldwide feasibility. Even in some extreme
conditions, the nanofabric can also reduce the human body’s
cooling demand compared with traditional cotton textile, proving this
material as a feasible solution for better thermoregulation of the
human body. The facile fabrication of such textiles paves the way
for the mass adoption of energy-free personal cooling technology in
daily life, which meets the growing demand for healthcare, climate
change, and sustainability.
Uncontrolled sunlight entering through windows contributes to substantial heating and cooling demands in buildings, which leads to high energy consumption from the buildings. Recently, perovskite smart windows have emerged as innovative energy‐saving technologies, offering the potential to adaptively control indoor solar heat gain through their impressive sunlight modulation capabilities. Moreover, harnessing the high‐efficiency photovoltaic properties of perovskite materials, these windows have the potential to generate power, thereby realizing more advanced windows with combined light modulation and energy harvesting capabilities. This review summarizes the recent advancements in various chromic perovskite materials for achieving light modulation, focusing on both perovskite structures and underlying switching mechanisms. The discussion also encompasses device engineering strategies for smart windows, including the improvement of their optical and transition performance, durability, combination with electricity generation, and the evaluation of their energy‐saving performance in building applications. Furthermore, the challenges and opportunities associated with perovskite smart windows are explicated, aimed at stimulating more academic research and advancing their pragmatic implementation for building energy efficiency and sustainability.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
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