Optical properties and cooling performance analyses of single-layer radiative cooling coating with mixture of TiO2 particles and SiO2 particles

Radiative cooling can achieve cooling effect without consuming any energy by delivering energy into outer space (3 K) through “atmospheric window” (8–13 μm). Conventional radiative cooling coating with multi-layer structure was severely restricted during application due to its complex preparation process and high cost. In this study, a single-layer radiative cooling coating with mixture of TiO2 particles and SiO2 particles was proposed. The algorithm for calculating the radiative properties of the multi-particle system was developed. Monte Carlo ray-tracing method combined with that algorithm was used to solve the radiative transfer equation (RTE) of the single-layer radiative cooling coating with mixture of TiO2 particles and SiO2 particles. The effects of particle diameter, volume fraction and coating thickness on radiative cooling performance were analyzed to obtain the best radiative cooling performance. The numerical results indicated that the average reflectivity of the single-layer radiative cooling coating with mixture of TiO2 particles and SiO2 particles in the solar spectrum can reach 95.6%, while and the average emissivity in the “atmospheric window” spectrum can reach 94.9% without additional silver-reflectance layer. The average reflectivity in the solar spectrum and average emissivity in the “atmospheric window” spectrum of the single-layer radiative cooling coating with mixture of TiO2 particles and SiO2 particles can increase 4.6% and 4.8% compared to the double-layer radiative cooling coating. This numerical research results can provide a theoretical guidance for design and optimization of single-layer radiative cooling coatings containing mixed nanoparticles.