Daytime radiative cooling capacity of nanoparticle on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film

Radiative cooling, which does not entail any energy consumption, has received considerable attention as a promising, practical, and sustainable solution to heatwaves. This study investigated single layer nanoparticles–polymer films that reflected sunlight and emitted radiation through atmospheric windows. In this paper, the fundamental principles of Mie theory, the cooling power model, and the thermal balance model of metamaterial films were first introduced. Then, the influence of fabrication parameters (nanoparticle materials, mass fractions, and thicknesses) to the reflectivity in solar band was experimentally explained. An increase in the mass fraction enhanced the reflectivity corresponding to the stretching vibration regions of C[sbnd]H, N[sbnd]H, and O[sbnd]H, while an increase in the thickness improved the reflectivity at non-absorption bands. Laboratory measurements indicated that the combination of TiO₂, a fluorescent brightener, and a far-infrared ceramic powder on 100 μm thermoplastic polyurethane film achieved excellent solar reflectivity of 92.2 % and infrared emissivity of 96.1 %. Experimental testing and Fluent simulation showed that the film achieved a substantial cooling capacity in both Beijing and Tianjin. Under a transparent atmospheric window, it exhibited a subambient temperature of 3.7 °C when the air temperature reached its peak. The maximum daytime and night-time subambient temperature were 13.4 °C and 14 °C respectively.