Nanowerk Nanotechnology Spotlight

Radiative cooling is a passive cooling strategy for lowering the temperature of an object without consuming energy or emitting pollution. However, this cooling method becomes ineffective when heat accumulates continuously in an enclosed space, such as a stationary vehicle exposed to direct sunlight. Researchers propose a Janus thermal emitter that acts as a selective emitter on the top side and a broadband emitter on the bottom side. This design effectively draws heat from an inner space and the surface, because the bottom side can absorb thermal input in a broad spectral range, while the top side emits heat into space without disturbing ambient radiation.

Protein corona determines fate and cytotoxicity of nanoparticles Nanoparticles can cause unusual reorientation transitions in liquid crystals Nanotechnology for explosives trace detection Vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays stabilize homeotropic liquid crystal devices Active optical navigation of individual microswimmers