Description
Passive radiative cooling has emerged as an effective photonic strategy for sub-ambient thermal regulation by simultaneously minimizing solar absorption and enhancing thermal emission within the atmospheric window. However, developing scalable, mechanically robust, and manufacturable radiative cooling textiles remains a significant challenge.
In this work, we report a scalable surface photonic engineering strategy that transforms commodity polyethylene terephthalate (PET) textiles into multifunctional radiative cooling materials through plasma activation followed by the in situ formation of a conformal nanocellulose coating on the fiber surface.
The resulting hierarchical architecture creates a disordered photonic scattering medium that substantially enhances multiple light scattering and broadband solar reflection across the UV–visible–near-infrared region. Consequently, the modified textiles exhibit a high average solar reflectance of approximately 80%. Simultaneously, the conformal nanocellulose layer significantly increases the intrinsic mid-infrared emissivity of PET, yielding an emissivity of up to 97% within the atmospheric window and thereby promoting efficient radiative heat dissipation.
In addition, the hydrophilic nanocellulose network facilitates moisture transport, providing enhanced moisture management while maintaining the mechanical integrity and washing durability of the PET textiles.
Unlike particle-filled composites and fiber-blending approaches, this surface-confined photonic design eliminates embedded scatterers, simplifies processing, and can be readily integrated into existing textile manufacturing processes.
This work establishes a general interfacial photonic engineering strategy for converting commodity polymers into multifunctional disordered photonic materials and provides a scalable route toward durable and wearable passive radiative cooling textiles.
| I am the presenting author | Yes |
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