Journal of Textile Research ›› 2024, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (09): 33-41.doi: 10.13475/j.fzxb.20230605701

• Fiber Materials • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preparation and properties of polyethylene oxide/Al2O3 passive radiative cooling membrane

WANG Qingpeng, ZHANG Haiyan, WANG Yuting, ZHANG Tao, ZHAO Yan()   

  1. College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
  • Received:2023-06-29 Revised:2024-03-22 Online:2024-09-15 Published:2024-09-15
  • Contact: ZHAO Yan E-mail:yanzhao@suda.edu.cn

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Abstract:

Objective Rapid population growth and industrialization cause global warming. Improving the cooling efficiency of materials and slowing down global warming become a top priority. With the development of micro/nano technology, through the design and preparation of new materials, high solar reflectivity and high infrared emissivity in the atmospheric window band infrared emissivity can be achieved to improve the daytime radiative cooling effect.

Method Using polyethylene oxide (PEO) as the raw material, PEO fibrous membranes were prepared through electrospinning technology. PEO/Al2O3 fibrous membranes were fabricated by combining different contents of nano-Al2O3 into PEO micro-nanofibers through a blending method. The morphology, reflectance of sunlight, mid-infrared transmittance and emissivity in the atmospheric window, and daytime radiative cooling performance of fibrous membranes were studied and analyzed.

Results Through SEM analysis, it was confirmed that the nano-Al2O3 particles were combined into the fibers, and the diameters of the fibers obtained by electrospinning were mainly distributed in the range of 0.2-1.6 μm, while the solar spectrum was in the range of 0.25-2.5 μm, demonstrating that the fibrous membrane has a strong scattering effect on sunlight. The increase in the content of nano-Al2O3 particles in fibrous membrane was confirmed by EDS analysis. The crystallization properties of the fibrous membranes were analyzed, and the results confirmed the existence of nano-Al2O3 particles in the FPRC-4 membrane. The chemical structure analysis suggested that the FPRC-4 membrane had no obvious characteristic peak in the mid-infrared band of 8-13 μm, and that it can achieve selective emission in the wavelength range of 8-13 μm. The effects of Al2O3 content and membrane thickness on solar light reflectance and mid-infrared transmittance were studied. The results indicated that owing to the effective scattering of micro-nanofiber structure and nano-Al2O3, the average solar light reflectance of the membrane was 90.2%, and the average transmittance in the atmospheric window was 93.5%. When the Al2O3 mass fraction was 4%, the PEO/Al2O3 fibrous membrane has the best optical properties. The solar light reflectance would increase with the increase of thickness, while the change in the mid-infrared transmittance with the increase of thickness was not obvious. The influence of added Al2O3 nanoparticles on the emissivity of the fibrous membrane was studied. The results showed that the introduction of nano-Al2O3 particles increased the overall infrared emissivity of FPRC-4 membrane to 80.3%, compared to the relatively low infrared emissivity of the pure PEO membrane (56.5%), and the average emissivity of FPRC-4 membrane in the atmospheric window was as high as 90.0%. Radiative cooling experiments were conducted using a self-designed testing setup to investigate the cooling performance of the samples. With an Al2O3 mass fraction of 4%, a temperature decrease of 6.1 ℃ was achieved during daytime under an average solar irradiance of 712.3 W/m2 and an average ambient humidity of 14.2%. The actual cooling effectiveness of the membrane was tested. Infrared camera observed that the surface temperature of the FPRC-4 sample was significantly lower than that of the control sample, indicating good radiative cooling performance of the FPRC-4 sample.

Conclusion The radiative cooling performance is closely associated with multiple factors. The Al2O3 content and membrane thickness have an impact on the solar light reflectance, mid-infrared transmittance in the atmospheric window region, emissivity, and radiative cooling performance of the fibrous membrane. Analysis of solar light reflectance spectra and mid-infrared transmittance spectra demonstrated that with an Al2O3 mass fraction of 4% and a thickness of 0.2 mm, the fibrous membrane achieved a daytime temperature reduction of 6.1 ℃. Radiative cooling technology holds promise for assisting China in achieving peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. The use of such fibrous membranes for energy-efficient radiative thermal regulation provides new avenues and approaches for mitigating global warming and advancing the development of renewable energy-saving refrigeration technologies.

Key words: passive radiative cooling, electrospinning, polyethylene oxide, nano alumina, micro-nano fiber

CLC Number: 

  • TS102.6

Fig.1

Schematic diagram of working mechanism of PEO/Al2O3 passive radiative cooling membrane"

Fig.2

Daytime radiative cooling performance test device. (a) Structure illustration; (b) Object photo"

Fig.3

SEM images and diameter distribution histograms of samples. (a) Nano-Al2O3; (b) FPRC; (c) Fibrous membranes with different nano-Al2O3 mass fractions"

Tab.1

Mass percentages of elements in fibrous membranes with different nano-Al2O3 mass fractions%"

样品编号 C O Al
FPRC 62.2 37.8 0
FPRC-2 61.8 36.4 1.8
FPRC-4 61.6 35.3 3.1
FPRC-6 60.9 35.1 4.0
FPRC-8 60.7 34.4 4.9

Fig.4

XRD patterns of Al2O3, FPRC and FPRC-4 fibrous membrane"

Fig.5

FT-IR spectra of FPRC and FPRC-4 fibrous membranes"

Fig.6

Influences of nano-Al2O3 mass fraction on optical properties of fibrous membranes. (a) Solar light reflectance; (b) Mid-infrared light transmittance"

Fig.7

Influences of membrane thickness on optical properties of FPRC-4 fibrous membranes. (a) Solar light reflectance; (b) Mid-infrared light transmittance"

Fig.8

Infrared emissivities of FPRC and FPRC-4 fibrous membrane"

Fig.9

Curves of sample temperature (a), ambient humidity and optical power density (b) with time in daytime radiative cooling experiment"

Tab.2

Comparison of various electrospun membranes in radiative cooling performance"

材料 纤维直径/μm 微纳米颗粒直径/nm 反射率/% 发射率/% 辐射降温/℃ 参考文献
聚偏氟乙烯/二氧化硅微米颗粒 — 2 000~42 000 97.0 96.0 6.0 [21]
聚偏氟乙烯/三氧化二铝纳米颗粒 0.5~2.5 260~470 97.0 95.0 4.0 [23]
聚偏氟乙烯/二氧化硅微米颗粒 0.3~2.4 1 000~20 000 92.3 86.0 5.8 [24]
聚环氧乙烷 0.5~1.2 — 96.3 78.0 5.0 [26]
聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯/二氧化锆纳米颗粒 — 80~240 97.7 86.7 3.5 [27]
聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯/二氧化硅纳米颗粒 0.8 480 96.5 90.3 4.0 [28]
聚环氧乙烷/三氧化二铝纳米颗粒 0.4~1.8 25~60 90.2 90.0 6.1 本文

Fig.10

Demonstration of daytime radiative cooling effect of FPRC-4 fibrous membrane. (a) Object photo; (b) Infrared photo"

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