Radiative cooling materials and strategies for suppressing ice melting and enabling passive cold-chain management

Abstract

Ice loss from glaciers and snowpacks poses a growing threat to freshwater resources and coastal communities through sea-level rise, while also placing unprecedented demands on global cold-chain logistics. Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) has emerged as a zero-energy strategy to counteract solar heating by reflecting over 95% of sunlight (0.3–2.5 µm) and emitting thermal radiation through the atmospheric window (8–13 µm) into outer space. In this review, we first outline the governing radiative and non-radiative heat-transfer principles and define performance targets. We systematically summarize recent advances in material design, highlighting architectures that achieve 5–15 °C sub-ambient cooling under direct sunlight, together with robust self-cleaning, UV durability, mechanical strength, and humidity tolerance for real-world deployment. Two major application frontiers are emphasized: (1) passive cold-chain management, where radiative-cooling films and packaging materials provide energy-free refrigeration for perishable goods; and (2) glacier and ice preservation, where PDRC covers significantly prolong ice and snow longevity under intense sunlight. Finally, we identify major challenges for practical adoption, such as scalable manufacturing, all-weather reliability, and environmental sustainability, and propose future research directions to accelerate the large-scale implementation of PDRC technologies.