Scalable-manufactured randomized glass-polymer hybrid metamaterial for daytime radiative cooling

The lazy way to keep cool in the sun

Passive radiative cooling requires a material that radiates heat away while allowing solar radiation to pass through. Zhai et al. solve this riddle by constructing a metamaterial composed of a polymer layer embedded with microspheres, backed with a thin layer of silver (see the Perspective by Zhang). The result is an easy-to-manufacture material near the theoretical limit for daytime radiative cooling. The translucent and flexible film can be made in large quantities for a variety of energy technology applications.

Science , this issue p. 1062 ; see also p. 1023