Self-adaptive integration of photothermal and radiative cooling for continuous energy harvesting from the sun and outer space

Significance The sun (∼6,000 K) and outer space (∼3 K) are two natural energy resources for humans. However, most of the approaches of energy harvesting from the sun and rejecting energy to outer space are achieved independently using absorbers and emitters with static spectral properties. Herein, a spectrally self-adaptive structure with strong solar absorption and switchable emissivity within the atmospheric window (i.e., 8 to 13 μm) is experimentally demonstrated to achieve diurnal solar thermal and nocturnal radiative cooling efficiently. The experiment shows that the proposed structure not only can be heated to 185°C in diurnal mode but also be cooled to −12°C in nocturnal mode. This work opens new possibilities for continuously efficient energy harvesting utilizing the sun and the universe.