µm) and emitting thermal radiation into the chilly outer space through the atmospheric transparency window (8-13 µm). [3][4][5][6][7][8] To achieve desired cooling effect, PDRC structures should possess a sufficiently high solar reflectance (R solar ) to minimize the heat gain from the environment and a superior long-wave IR emittance (ε LWIR ) for releasing excess heat to the cold outer space. [9][10][11] A variety of PDRC coolers have been proposed and exhibit efficient cooling effect. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Raman et al. [16] presented a nanophotonic structured PDRC cooler consisting of seven alternating layers of hafnium dioxide (HfO 2 ) and silica (SiO 2 ), which could cool the rooftop 4.9 °C below ambient air temperature under direct sunlight irradiation (>850 W m −2 ). Zhai et al. [19] reported a randomized glass-polymer hybrid PDRC film by embedding SiO 2 microspheres in the polymethylpentene matrix and backing the film with a silver coating. It is claimed the prepared PDRC film exhibited a noontime radiative cooling power of 93 W m −2 under direct sunshine. Furthermore, textile as a high-strength flexible material has received widespread attention in many fields. [21,22] Some radiative cooling textiles have also been successfully prepared. Wang et al. [23] presented an electrospinning method to fabricate the flexible membrane radiator, which consists of polyvinylidene fluoride/tetraethyl orthosilicate fibers and SiO 2 microspheres randomly distributed across its surface. Cai et al. [24] reported a spectrally selective nanocomposite textile for radiative outdoor cooling by embedding zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles into polyethylene (PE). Zeng et al. [25] developed a multilayer PDRC metafabric which could cool a human body ≈4.8 °C lower than that covered by a regular cotton fabric in the practical application tests. These PDRC systems show reliable daytime radiative cooling performance. However, most of the PDRC devices suffer from complex preparation process and high cost.Besides radiative cooling, evaporative cooling is also an effective alternative to achieve passive cooling by dissipating heat through water evaporation. Evaporative cooling is a simple, inexpensive, and green strategy to cool the human and buildings without additional energy input. [26][27][28] Li et al. [29] reported an evaporative cooling fabric by integrating superabsorbent
Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) has attracted great attention recently due to its high potential for reducing global energy consumption. However, PDRC materials are easily contaminated in practical applications, which will seriously attenuate their long-term cooling performance. In this work, a multilayered PDRC fabric that is composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and cotton is shown. This multilayered fabric displays a high solar reflectivity (0.94) and an appropriate atmospheric window emissivity (0.79). A practical application test demonstrates the glass covered by this PDRC fabric can lower the temperature up to 7.8 °C under a solar intensity of ≈495 W m −2 . Meanwhile, the multilayered PDRC fabric exhibits self-cleaning property due to its high water contact angle of 118°. Rolling water can effectively remove the contaminants on the fabric surface. It is believed that this multilayered fabric is a promising material to alleviate the energy crisis and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The utilization of solar energy to make human lives better has been one of the primary and green approaches adopted by ordinary people and researchers for decades. This approach has recently gained a lot of attention as a way to tackle clean water scarcity in remote areas. Costly components, complex manufacturing procedures with rarely available equipment, and a surface to condense water vapors are challenges in the way of its application in the required areas. Here, we propose a complete system to solve this problem with a handmade light absorber and a superhydrophilic surface (antifogging) to get vapors back to collect clean water. Our handmade flower-like light absorber stitched by crochet work, the single stitch method, was able to get a decent evaporation rate of 1.75 kg/m 2 ·h in pure water and slightly lower rates of 1.62 and 1.65 kg/m 2 ·h with brine and pond water, respectively. Still, our proposed superhydrophilic coated surface can collect ∼37% more water than the pristine surface. This system has a huge potential for use in rural areas because of multiple key advantages, such as simple technology, readily available low-cost raw materials, and easy fabrication.
An efficient, low-cost, and easy-to-fabricate solar steam generator is needed to mitigate clean water scarcity in less-resourced areas. A balanced water supply demand (WSD) to the photothermal conversion layer (PCL) plays a key role in improved heat management and evaporation rate. Here, we designed a solar steam generator of integrated multi-layered fabric (IMLF) in which WSD can be tuned by varying the degree of polypyrrole (PPy) coating. The hydrophilic viscose yarn deposited with PPy is exploited as the surface, and the hydrophobic hollow polyester is used as the inner warp and weft yarn. Under 1 solar light intensity, IMLF attains an evaporation rate of 1.15 kg m–2 h–1 and a corresponding evaporation efficiency of ∼77.9%. Within 16 cycle tests, the evaporation rate of the IMLF fluctuates in the range of ∼1.00 to 1.16 kg m–2 h–1, indicating good cycle stability. Furthermore, the condensate obtained from actual seawater satisfies EPA and WHO drinking water standards. Our findings demonstrate that the IMLF is capable of effectively treating seawater and dyeing effluent.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.