Cactus-inspired bilayer cooler for high-performance and long-term daytime passive cooling

The combination of daytime radiative and evaporative cooling has been considered a promising complementary technology for lessening greenhouse gas emissions and global energy consumption. However, this cooling strategy is impaired by environmental heat; its evaporative cooling capacity and cooling time are uncontrollable, and water consumption is significant. Inspired by the cactus’s ability to cope with arid and hot environments, the bilayer passive cooler (BPC) consisting of aerogel with particle coating and hydrogel with hygroscopic agent was developed to overcome these challenges. The aerogel with particle coating possessed high solar reflectance (∼0.95), strong infrared radiation (∼0.94), low thermal conductivity (∼42 mW m−1 K−1), and great hydrophobicity (CA = 138°) to perform daytime radiative cooling, thermal insulation, and self-cleaning function. The hydrogel with hygroscopic agent achieved the nighttime moisture capture. The evaporative cooling capacity and cooling time could be regulated by the aerogel and hydrogel thicknesses. The field test showed that the BPC achieved a temperature drop of ∼ 8℃ compared to the ambient temperature of ∼ 30℃ and a cooling power of ∼ 222 W m−2 under the sunlight. Thus, the present study should open a new daytime passive cooling technology pathway.