Template-Thermally Induced Phase Separation-Assisted Microporous Regulation in Poly(lactic acid) Aerogel for Sustainable Radiative Cooling.

Abstract

Herein, an eco-friendly and degradable poly(lactic acid) aerogel was prepared by combining a poly(ethylene glycol) template material with thermally induced phase separation. Due to the tailored pore size introduced by the template material, the aerogel exhibits high solar reflectance (92.0%), excellent thermal emittance (90.5%), low thermal conductivity (52.0 mW m^-1 K^-1), and high compressive strength (0.15 MPa). Cooling tests demonstrate that the aerogel can achieve temperature drops of 3.7 °C during the day and of 6.2 °C at night. Furthermore, simulations of building cooling energy systems reveal that the aerogel can reduce energy consumption by 2.2 to 10.2 MJ m^-2 per year in various cities, achieving energy savings ranging from 8.2 to 24.3%. Meanwhile, the aerogel cooler demonstrates excellent self-cleaning performance (WCA = 149.1°) and cyclic compression performance. This research will promote the field of passive radiative cooling toward a greener and more sustainable direction.