A double-layer radiative cooling coating that utilizes the refractive index difference between layers to achieve extremely high solar reflectivity

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) technology has great potential in reducing cooling energy consumption. In order to further improve the spectral performance of PDRC coatings, current researchers mostly focus on the selection and size design of functional particles, while ignoring the optical properties enhancement effect caused by the interlayer binder. In this study, based on the principle that the refractive index difference between layers enhanced the backscattering performance of the solar spectrum, we proposed and manufactured a double-layer PDRC coating with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) as the film-forming material in the upper layer and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the film-forming material in the lower layer, both filled with Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ particles. The double-layer PDRC coating exhibited excellent spectral performance that a high solar reflectivity of 98% and an emissivity of 0.95 at the “atmospheric window” band. In comparison, the solar spectrum reflectivity of the single-layer PDRC coatings based on PVDF and PDMS of the same thickness was 95% and 94.7%, respectively. Outdoor tests showed that the PDRC coating achieved a temperature decrease of up to 7.1°C under direct sunlight at noon time. In addition, the PDRC coating had excellent weather resistance, water resistance, and other basic properties. This article opens up a new idea and provides methodological guidance for the design of double-layer PDRC coatings.