Chinese Scientists Design New Cooling Material for Buildings to Reduce Carbon Emissions

A team of Chinese researchers has crafted an innovative biomass-derived material using DNA, the genetic blueprint of life. This aerogel demonstrates a remarkable ability to cool buildings, reduce carbon emissions and reduce ambient temperatures by 16 degrees Celsius on sunny days, even under intense solar radiation. The researchers combined DNA and gelatin into an ordered layered aerogel structure that converts absorbed ultraviolet light into visible light to surpass 100 percent solar reflectance, yielding exceptional radiative cooling, according to China's News Agency (Xinhua). The adoption of biopolymer-based radiative cooling material helps mitigate environmental pollution, according to the study published in the journal Science. Moreover, these aerogels, efficiently fabricated on a large scale through water welding, demonstrate remarkable reparability, recyclability and biodegradability. This aerogel material is poised to revolutionize the energy efficiency of urban architecture as an outer protective layer, the paper's corresponding author Zhao Haibo from Sichuan University said. The simulation outcomes of the study have demonstrated a substantial reduction in annual energy expenditure in cooling for buildings across all modeled cities. The novel aerogel holds promise for significantly reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption and paves the way for innovative and sustainable radiative cooling materials in the future, Zhao added. Source: Qatar News Agency