A review of the development of colored radiative cooling surfaces

Radiative cooling without energy input is an appealing heat exchange form based on passive heat radiation from radiative coolers to outer space, which is attributed to its potential to relieve energy and environmental crisis effectively. In recent years, along with the development of micro and nano design, the corresponding radiation cooling technology has also been developed by leaps and bounds. People are not only strict with the functionality of the designed material but also pursue the aesthetics of the designed coolers (colored coolers). However, the conventional cooling surfaces have difficulty supporting the appearance of color due to their high broadband solar reflectivity. Thus, many researchers have done much relevant work in the last ten years to achieve sub-ambient daytime radiative cooling with colorful effects. This work reviews several significant designs of colored radiative cooling materials in detail and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The final review of this topic concludes with a summary and looks at some of the main points for future investigations.