News Excerpt:
In a groundbreaking development, scientists have created an innovative aerogel made from gelatin and DNA that not only surpasses 100% solar reflectance but also offers exceptional radiative cooling.
A Sustainable Cooling Solution:
- Traditional refrigeration systems, while effective, consume significant amounts of energy and emit considerable greenhouse gasses.
- In contrast, passive radiative cooling technologies present a potentially sustainable thermal management strategy by consuming less energy and reducing emissions.
- However, many current passive cooling materials rely on polymer materials that lack long-term stability, are not recyclable, or contain harmful compounds.
- These petrochemical-derived polymers often struggle with optical daytime radiative cooling due to their inherent solar absorption.
- Biodegradable Biomass-Based Aerogel is paving the way for high-performance, environmentally friendly advancements in radiative cooling technologies.
Innovative Material Design:
- The research team has leveraged the unique interactions between DNA and gelatin to develop a photoluminescent biomass aerogel with a substantial cooling effect.
- By combining DNA and gelatin into an ordered layered aerogel structure, they have created a passive radiative cooling material that achieves an impressive average visible light reflectance of 104.0%.
- This high reflectance is attributed to the aerogel’s unique fluorescence and phosphorescence behaviours, enabling it to cool ambient temperatures by up to 16º Celsius under high solar irradiance.
Environmental Benefits
- Fabricated exclusively from biomass feedstock, the aerogel is efficiently produced at scale through a process known as water welding.
- This method ensures that the material is not only biodegradable but also boasts impressive reparability and recyclability.Hence it can be used without adverse environmental impacts.
- It will help in mitigating environment pollution caused by current passive cooling polymer based material such as acrylic.
Conclusion:In summary, the creation of a biodegradable biomass-based aerogel for sustainable radiative cooling represents a major advancement in the field. By combining high performance with environmental responsibility, this innovation offers a promising path forward for energy-efficient and eco-friendly cooling solutions in our rapidly warming world.
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Aerogel
Applications in Insulation and Passive Cooling:
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