Natural-inspired sustainable cellulose cooling aerogel with hetero-photonic scattering network via hydration of metal-organic frameworks-induced interface assembly for energy saving buildings

Qianyi Yao; Guixian Dong; Xuanhao Zhuo; Xiaodan Wu; Xin Zhao; Guanzhen Wu; Yu Fu; Chenyang Cai

doi:10.1016/j.jobab.2026.100267

Volume 11 Issue 4

Aug. 2026

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Article Navigation > Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts > 2026 > 11(4): 100267

Qianyi Yao, Guixian Dong, Xuanhao Zhuo, Xiaodan Wu, Xin Zhao, Guanzhen Wu, Yu Fu, Chenyang Cai. Natural-inspired sustainable cellulose cooling aerogel with hetero-photonic scattering network via hydration of metal-organic frameworks-induced interface assembly for energy saving buildings[J]. Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, 2026, 11(4): 100267. doi: 10.1016/j.jobab.2026.100267

Citation:

Qianyi Yao, Guixian Dong, Xuanhao Zhuo, Xiaodan Wu, Xin Zhao, Guanzhen Wu, Yu Fu, Chenyang Cai. Natural-inspired sustainable cellulose cooling aerogel with hetero-photonic scattering network via hydration of metal-organic frameworks-induced interface assembly for energy saving buildings[J]. Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, 2026, 11(4): 100267. doi: 10.1016/j.jobab.2026.100267

Citation:

Qianyi Yao, Guixian Dong, Xuanhao Zhuo, Xiaodan Wu, Xin Zhao, Guanzhen Wu, Yu Fu, Chenyang Cai. Natural-inspired sustainable cellulose cooling aerogel with hetero-photonic scattering network via hydration of metal-organic frameworks-induced interface assembly for energy saving buildings[J]. Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, 2026, 11(4): 100267. doi: 10.1016/j.jobab.2026.100267

PDF( 3959 KB)

Natural-inspired sustainable cellulose cooling aerogel with hetero-photonic scattering network via hydration of metal-organic frameworks-induced interface assembly for energy saving buildings

doi: 10.1016/j.jobab.2026.100267

a.
College of International Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
b.
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China

More Information

Corresponding author: E-mail address: ccy@njfu.edu.cn (C. Cai)
Received Date: 2026-01-12
Accepted Date: 2026-04-18
Rev Recd Date: 2026-04-12

Available Online: 2026-05-13

Publish Date: 2026-08-01

Abstract

Abstract

Passive radiative cooling is a sustainable cooling technology that shows great promise in energy-saving fields. However, simultaneously achieving solar reflectivity and infrared emissivity over 95% performance is hindered by the lack of an efficient micro/nano-structure process technology and by photonic design’s shortcomings in terms of high cost and environmental concerns. Herein, inspired by the structural relationship in the white beetle, a novel cooling cellulose aerogel (MCA) with dual-band solar reflectivity and infrared emissivity was proposed by meticulously manipulating the kinetics of the ice-templating process. A hetero-photonic scattering topology composed of nanoparticles, a nano/micro fibers network, and dual-pores via incorporating ice nucleation modifier of hygroscopic metal-organic frameworks (MOF) (modulation of interaction between cellulose, water, and MOF), reproducing the random and anisotropic optical scattering mechanism of white beetles. Driven by the hydration of MOF-induced ice nucleation in binary nanocellulose suspensions, the nanofibers and nanoparticles can form a heterostructured and interconnected micro/nanonetwork via hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. Compared with the traditional pore structure, the bioinspired MCA exhibited a dual band high solar reflectance of 0.958 and infrared emissivity of 0.95, which results in daytime subambient cooling of 7.1 ℃ during direct sunlight outdoors. Meanwhile, life cycle assessment demonstrates that the preparation process of MCA exhibits a very low environmental impact and is essential for green production and manufacturing. By demonstrating 40% annual cooling energy savings in China, this work paves the way for high-performance, sustainable cooling materials.
- Nanocellulose aerogel,
- Metal-organic frameworks,
- Hydration,
- Radiative cooling,
- Energy saving,
- Biodegradable

Author contributions
Qianyi Yao: experiment, data curation, writing-original draft. Guixian Dong: software. Xuanhao Zhuo: visualization. Xiaodan Wu: supervision. Xin Zhao: software, formal analysis. Guanzhen Wu: validation. Yu Fu: resources. Chenyang Cai: conceptualization, funding, writing-original draft.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Supplementary materials
Supplementary material associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.jobab.2026.100267.
Peer review under the responsibility of Editorial Office of Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts.

FullText(HTML)

References(37)

References

Atiganyanun, S., Plumley, J.B., Han, S.J., Hsu, K., Cytrynbaum, J., Peng, T.L., Han, S.M., Han, S.E., 2018. Effective radiative cooling by paint-format microsphere-based photonic random media. ACS Photon. 5, 1181–1187. doi: 10.1021/acsphotonics.7b01492

Bi, Y.H., Luo, X.Y., Yin, Y.X., Tang, F.J., Sun, H.D., Huang, L.L., Chen, L.H., Li, J.G., 2024. Robust, stable cooling cellulose composite: coupling nano-SiO₂ and cellulose acetate in natural cellulose. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 277, 133728. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133728

Bu, K.L., Huang, X.Y., Li, X.Y., Bao, H., 2023. Consistent assessment of the cooling performance of radiative cooling materials. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2307191. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202307191

Cai, C.C., Liu, T., Meng, X.J., Luo, B., Chi, M.C., Wang, J.L., Liu, Y.H., Zhang, S., Gao, C., Bai, Y.Y., Wang, S.F., Nie, S.X., 2025. Lightweight and mechanically robust cellulosic triboelectric materials for wearable self-powered rehabilitation training. ACS Nano 19, 396–405. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.4c08445

Cai, C.Y., Chen, W.B., Wei, Z.C., Ding, C.X., Sun, B.J., Gerhard, C., Fu, Y., Zhang, K., 2023. Bioinspired “aerogel grating” with metasurfaces for durable daytime radiative cooling for year-round energy savings. Nano Energy 114, 108625. doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.108625

Cai, C.Y., Wei, Z.C., Ding, C.X., Sun, B.J., Chen, W.B., Gerhard, C., Nimerovsky, E., Fu, Y., Zhang, K., 2022. Dynamically tunable all-weather daytime cellulose aerogel radiative supercooler for energy-saving building. Nano Lett. 22, 4106–4114. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c00844

Cai, C.Y., Wei, Z.C., Wang, X., Mei, C.T., Fu, Y., Zhong, W.H., 2018. Novel double-networked polyurethane composites with multi-stimuli responsive functionalities. J. Mater. Chem. A 6, 17457–17472. doi: 10.1039/c8ta05969a

Chae, D., Lim, H., So, S., Son, S., Ju, S., Kim, W., Rho, J., Lee, H., 2021. Spectrally selective nanoparticle mixture coating for passive daytime radiative cooling. ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 13, 21119–21126. doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c20311

Dong, S.H., Wu, Q., Zhang, W.L., Xia, G.F., Yang, L., Cui, J.X., 2022. Slippery passive radiative cooling supramolecular siloxane coatings. ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 14, 4571–4578. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c22673

Fan, S.H., Li, W., 2022. Photonics and thermodynamics concepts in radiative cooling. Nat. Photon. 16, 182–190. doi: 10.1038/s41566-021-00921-9

Fathieh, F., Kalmutzki, M.J., Kapustin, E.A., Waller, P.J., Yang, J.J., Yaghi, O.M., 2018. Practical water production from desert air. Sci. Adv. 4, eaat3198. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aat3198

Gao, H., Li, Y., Xie, Y.J., Liang, D.X., Li, J., Wang, Y.G., Xiao, Z.F., Wang, H.G., Gan, W.T., Pattelli, L., Xu, H.B., 2024. Optical wood with switchable solar transmittance for all-round thermal management. Compos. Part B Eng. 275, 111287. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2024.111287

Hossain, M.M., Gu, M., 2016. Radiative cooling: principles, progress, and potentials. Adv. Sci. 3, 1500360. doi: 10.1002/advs.201500360

Huang, M.Q., Tang, G.H., Ren, X.J., Sun, Q., Du, M., 2023. Effects of microstructure and moisture content on the radiative properties of porous films for radiative cooling. Sol. Energy 262, 111855. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.111855

Li, G.W., Huang, J.W., Zhou, J., Zhang, Y.C., Zhang, C.C., Rao, Z.G., Fei, L.F., 2024. A flame-retardant wood-based composite with magnesium-aluminium layered double hydroxides for efficient daytime radiative cooling. J. Mater. Chem. A 12, 1609–1616. doi: 10.1039/d3ta06065a

Li, T., Zhai, Y., He, S.M., Gan, W.T., Wei, Z.Y., Heidarinejad, M., Dalgo, D., Mi, R.Y., Zhao, X.P., Song, J.W., Dai, J.Q., Chen, C.J., Aili, A., Vellore, A., Martini, A., Yang, R.G., Srebric, J., Yin, X.B., Hu, L.B., 2019. A radiative cooling structural material. Science 364, 760–763. doi: 10.1126/science.aau9101

Liu, J.W., Tang, H.J., Jiang, C.X., Wu, S.Q., Ye, L., Zhao, D.L., Zhou, Z.H., 2022a. Micro-nano porous structure for efficient daytime radiative sky cooling. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2206962. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202206962

Liu, S.P., Sui, C.X., Harbinson, M., Pudlo, M., Perera, H., Zhang, Z.Z., Liu, R.G., Ku, Z., Islam, M.D., Liu, Y.X., Wu, R.H., Zhu, Y., Genzer, J., Khan, S.A., Hsu, P.C., Ryu, J.E., 2023. A scalable microstructure photonic coating fabricated by roll-to-roll “defects” for daytime subambient passive radiative cooling. Nano Lett. 23, 7767–7774. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00111

Liu, Y.M., Bu, X.H., He, M., Liang, S., Zhou, Y.M., 2022b. Robust passive daytime radiative coolers based on thermally insulating and spectrally selective composite aerogels with designed fiber-reinforced porous architecture. Sol. Energy 247, 564–573. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2022.10.063

Mandal, J., Yang, Y., Yu, N.F., Raman, A.P., 2020. Paints as a scalable and effective radiative cooling technology for buildings. Joule 4, 1350–1356. doi: 10.1016/j.joule.2020.04.010

Peng, Z.C., Zeng, F.R., Zeng, Z.W., Su, P.G., Tang, P.J., Liu, B.W., Zhang, Y., Wang, Y.Z., Zhao, H.B., 2025. Scalable low-carbon ambient-dried foam-like aerogels for radiative cooling with extreme environmental resistance. Adv. Mater. 37, 2505224. doi: 10.1002/adma.202505224

Raman, A.P., Abou Anoma, M., Zhu, L.X., Rephaeli, E., Fan, S.H., 2014. Passive radiative cooling below ambient air temperature under direct sunlight. Nature 515, 540–544. doi: 10.1038/nature13883

Rostami, J., Benselfelt, T., Maddalena, L., Avci, C., Sellman, F.A., Cinar Ciftci, G., Larsson, P.A., Carosio, F., Akhtar, F., Tian, W.Q., Wågberg, L., 2022. Shaping 90 wt% NanoMOFs into robust multifunctional aerogels using tailored bio-based nanofibrils. Adv. Mater. 34, 2204800. doi: 10.1002/adma.202204800

Scotti, K.L., Dunand, D.C., 2018. Freeze casting-A review of processing, microstructure and properties via the open data repository. Prog. Mater. Sci. 94, 243–305. FreezeCasting.net.

She, Y.N., Wang, J., Zhu, C.F., Tian, F.Y., Jin, Y.Y., Mao, W., Wu, Y.T., Chen, K., Xu, X.W., 2023. From nature back to nature: spectrally modified poplar and its all-day passive radiative cooling. Ind. Crops Prod. 193, 116242. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.116242

Syurik, J., Jacucci, G., Onelli, O.D., Hölscher, H., Vignolini, S., 2018. Bio-inspired highly scattering networks via polymer phase separation. Adv. Funct. Mater. 28, 1706901. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201706901

Wang, C.H., Chen, X., Wang, B., Huang, M., Wang, B., Jiang, Y., Ruoff, R.S., 2018. Freeze-casting produces a graphene oxide aerogel with a radial and centrosymmetric structure. ACS Nano 12, 5816–5825. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.8b01747

Wang, T., Wu, Y., Shi, L., Hu, X.H., Chen, M., Wu, L.M., 2021. A structural polymer for highly efficient all-day passive radiative cooling. Nat. Commun. 12, 365. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20646-7

Wang, Z., Wang, T., Zhu, Q., Ding, Z.Y., Gu, M., Zhang, Y.N., 2025a. Bioinspired design of thermally conductive radiative cooling structure for outdoor electronic devices. Adv. Funct. Mater. 35, 2501646. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202501646

Wang, Z.N., Pian, S.J., Ma, Y.G., 2026. Characterization of radiative cooling materials. Nat. Protoc. 21, 2083–2121. doi: 10.1038/s41596-025-01273-2

Wei, J., Chen, H., Liu, J.C., Wang, F.Q., Wang, C.H., 2025. Radiative cooling technologies toward enhanced energy efficiency of solar cells: materials, systems, and perspectives. Nano Energy 136, 110680. doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2025.110680

Xiong, L.H., Chen, C.L., Tian, K., Zhang, X.Z., Wen, M., Guo, C., Cheng, M.H., Li, Q.Y., Fu, Q., Deng, H., 2025. Dielectric aggregation-mediated dual-band robust optical performance for low-cost radiative cooling. Adv. Mater. 37, 2504150. doi: 10.1002/adma.202504150

Xiong, L.H., Wei, Y., Chen, C.L., Chen, X., Fu, Q., Deng, H., 2023. Thin lamellar films with enhanced mechanical properties for durable radiative cooling. Nat. Commun. 14, 6129. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41797-3

Yan, Z.S., Liu, X.Y., Ding, B., Yu, J.Y., Si, Y., 2023. Interfacial engineered superelastic metal-organic framework aerogels with van-der-Waals barrier channels for nerve agents decomposition. Nat. Commun. 14, 2116. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37693-5

Zhang, E.N., Ma, C., Wang, T.L., Mu, L., Yang, Y.J., Chen, G.Y., 2025. Anisotropic nanocellulose-based aerogels for radiative cooling. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 295, 139580. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139580

Zhang, Y.T., Dao, L.P., Chen, Y.Y., Pang, J., Wu, S.Y., 2026. Bio-inspired porous-hollow biomass-based microfiber prepared by phase separation evolution for efficient radiative cooling. Adv. Funct. Mater. 36, e10324. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202510324

Zhou, S.Y., Kong, X.Y., Zheng, B., Huo, F.W., Strømme, M., Xu, C., 2019. Cellulose nanofiber @ conductive metal-organic frameworks for high-performance flexible supercapacitors. ACS Nano 13, 9578–9586. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b04670

Relative Articles

Supplements(0)

Cited By

Proportional views