Self-adaptive photonic thermal management based on a flexible metasurface

[Display omitted] •A self-adaptive radiative cooler based on a flexible metasurface is proposed.•The radiative cooler possesses both adaptive MIR emissivity and low solar absorption.•The adaptive mid-infrared absorption is attributed to PDMS with high thermal expansion coefficient.•Daytime and nighttime cooling can be achieved simultaneously. As a new technology that uses thermal radiation to transmit the heat of objects to the universe through the transparent window of the atmosphere, radiative cooling has the advantages of zero energy consumption and zero pollution. However, most of the reported radiative cooling materials cannot sense the change of the ambient temperature and make corresponding thermal regulation behaviors independently. To address this issue, we propose a novel design based on flexible metasurface to realize the passive self-adaptive radiative cooling. By depositing flexible thermal expansion material in the sandwich structure, the metasurface can switch between ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’ states of radiative cooling function with the change of ambient temperature, and effectively control the absorption and reflection of electromagnetic waves in the atmospheric window, realizing flexible transformation of radiation cooling and insulation. Meanwhile, the cooler can achieve extremely low absorptivity across the entire solar spectrum for daytime cooling. This study is expected to provide practical solutions for the development of modern energy-efficient buildings.