Biologically Inspired Scalable-Manufactured Dual-layer Coating with a Hierarchical Micropattern for Highly Efficient Passive Radiative Cooling and Robust Superhydrophobicity

Bioinspired materials for temperature regulation have proven to be promising for passive radiation cooling, and super water repellency is also a main feature of biological evolution. However, the scalable production of artificial passive radiative cooling materials with self-adjusting structures, high-efficiency, strong applicability, and low cost, along with achieving superhydrophobicity simultaneously remains a challenge. Here, a biologically inspired passive radiative cooling dual-layer coating (Bio-PRC) is synthesized by a facile but efficient strategy, after the discovery of long-horned beetles' thermoregulatory behavior with multiscale fluffs, where an adjustable polymer-like layer with a hierarchical micropattern is constructed in various ceramic bottom skeletons, integrating multifunctional components with interlaced ridge-like architectures. The Bio-PRC coating reflects above 88% of solar irradiance and demonstrates an infrared emissivity >0.92, which makes the temperature drop by up to 3.6 degrees C under direct sunlight. Moreover, the hierarchical micro-/nanostructures also endow it with a superhydrophobic surface that has enticing damage resistance, thermal stability, and weatherability. Notably, we demonstrate that the Bio-PRC coatings can be potentially applied in the insulated gate bipolar transistor radiator, for effective temperature conditioning. Meanwhile, the coverage of the dense, super water-repellent top polymer-like layer can prevent the transport of corrosive liquids, ions, and electron transition, illustrating the excellent interdisciplinary applicability of our coatings. This work paves a new way to design next-generation thermal regulation coatings with great potential for applications.

Automated summary

Biologically inspired passive radiative cooling dual-layer coating (Bio-PRC) with superior energy-saving performance and superhydrophobicity, suitable for various applications, has been successfully synthesized through a biomimetic approach.