Scalable Biocompatible Radiative Cooling Textiles through a Dip-Coating Process
Session Number
3
Advisor(s)
Dr. Po-Chun Hsu and Dr. Qingsong Fan, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
Location
B108
Discipline
Engineering
Start Date
15-4-2026 2:15 PM
End Date
15-4-2026 3:00 PM
Abstract
Radiative cooling textiles are an emerging technology that creates subambient temperatures under clothing. Through minimizing solar absorption in the solar spectrum (0.2–2.5 μm) while maximizing thermal emission within the atmospheric transparency window (ATW, 8–13 μm), the fabrics reduce overheating risks and cooling costs from energy-intensive systems such as air conditioning. However, the common electrospinning method of fabrication has high time and energy cost and relies on non-environmentally friendly and costly materials, reducing practical application. These challenges are overcome through an alternative scalable dip-coating approach with commercially available fabrics. The surface layer with high ATW reflectivity and mid-infrared emissivity is composed of the coating material cellulose acetate (CA), which is bio-based, low cost, and abundant. To control the microporous structure of the CA coating, and therefore solar reflectance of the textile, experiments adjusting the ratio between the solvent (acetone) and the anti-solvent (isopropyl alcohol, IPA) were performed. After a series of optimizations, the textile achieves a solar reflectance of 91% and a mid-infrared emissivity of 80%, reaching subambient temperatures of 2°C under the direct sunlight of 37°C. Even with excellent scalability potential and cooling properties, future work is needed to improve mechanical properties of the textiles.
Scalable Biocompatible Radiative Cooling Textiles through a Dip-Coating Process
B108
Radiative cooling textiles are an emerging technology that creates subambient temperatures under clothing. Through minimizing solar absorption in the solar spectrum (0.2–2.5 μm) while maximizing thermal emission within the atmospheric transparency window (ATW, 8–13 μm), the fabrics reduce overheating risks and cooling costs from energy-intensive systems such as air conditioning. However, the common electrospinning method of fabrication has high time and energy cost and relies on non-environmentally friendly and costly materials, reducing practical application. These challenges are overcome through an alternative scalable dip-coating approach with commercially available fabrics. The surface layer with high ATW reflectivity and mid-infrared emissivity is composed of the coating material cellulose acetate (CA), which is bio-based, low cost, and abundant. To control the microporous structure of the CA coating, and therefore solar reflectance of the textile, experiments adjusting the ratio between the solvent (acetone) and the anti-solvent (isopropyl alcohol, IPA) were performed. After a series of optimizations, the textile achieves a solar reflectance of 91% and a mid-infrared emissivity of 80%, reaching subambient temperatures of 2°C under the direct sunlight of 37°C. Even with excellent scalability potential and cooling properties, future work is needed to improve mechanical properties of the textiles.