Colorful daytime radiative coolers are attractive for thermal management in aesthetically sensitive applications. However, existing colorful daytime radiative coolers offer only static colors and cannot realize color switching while maintaining persistent subambient cooling capability due to significantly increased solar absorption, restricting their potential applications in areas such as outdoor dynamic information displays. To address this challenge, we develop dynamic daytime radiative coolers that can simultaneously realize electrochemically driven color switching and subambient cooling. This dual functionality is achieved by reconfigurable, high-quality optical nanocavities via reversible metal electrodeposition, allowing for the first time in electrochromic, dynamic manipulation of the excitation/annihilation of narrowband resonant absorption. The devices achieve subambient cooling of 2.6–5.3 °C compared to inner air under direct sunlight and exhibit programmable dynamic color displays with high stability and flexibility. This work significantly expands the application scenarios of radiative cooling technology and provides a new paradigm for next-generation energy-saving and multifunctional smart devices for sustainability.

Dong Yang (Sichuan University)
Yujie Peng (Sichuan University)
Jiahao Hou (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Jingjing Mao (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Junkai Wang (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Mengqi Liu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Run Hu (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)
Kaihuan Zhang (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Changying Zhao (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Ming Xiao (Sichuan University)
Boxiang Wang (Chinese Academy of Sciences)