Thermal management technology is a fundamental enabler for modern engineering systems, driving progress across a diverse spectrum of applications that span from traditional industries to cutting-edge fields like aerospace, adaptive camouflage, high-performance electronics, and new energy systems. It has become a key driver of technological innovation and system optimization. Particularly in high-power, highly integrated environments, the ability to regulate heat with efficiency and precision directly determines device reliability, energy efficiency, and long-term operational stability. However, thermal management is confronted with multiple challenges, such as handling extreme temperature variations, dissipating high heat fluxes from power-dense devices, mitigating the growing energy demands of building climate systems, and safeguarding human thermal safety and comfort in increasingly unpredictable environmental conditions. In this context, transformative smart photothermal regulation materials and technologies have risen to the forefront of scientific research. Leveraging unique photothermal conversion mechanisms and dynamic responsive capabilities, these materials offer innovative strategies to advance critical national priorities and enhance societal well-being. Unlike traditional static photothermal materials, smart photothermal materials can dynamically and reversibly adjust their optical performance, like solar reflectance and transmittance, and thermal emissivity in response to external stimuli such as temperature, electric fields, or light intensity. This dynamic response behavior can be classified as active, when triggered by external controls, or passive, when driven by self-regulating mechanisms. With advancements in micro/nano fabrication technology, precisely engineered structures can now be fabricated, leading to significant improvements in key photothermal performance metrics such as spectral selectivity, spatiotemporal resolution, response speed, and environmental adaptability. This paper, based on the latest research on smart photothermal regulation materials and technologies, systematically reviews the underlying physical mechanisms, material design strategies, and application pathways, with a focus on critical national missions and societal needs. Specifically, it explores the challenges and prospects in key areas, including aerospace thermal control, adaptive camouflage, thermal management of high-power electronic devices, building energy efficiency, and personal thermal management. Furthermore, to guide the evolution of thermal management technology toward greater intelligence, adaptability, and integration, this paper proposes future research directions aimed at achieving breakthroughs in fundamental mechanisms, fabrication processes, and system integration. First, it is essential to reform material design paradigms and advance manufacturing techniques by incorporating AI-assisted approaches and atomic-scale fabrication to push material performance to new limits. Second, efforts should focus on expanding application scenarios through multidisciplinary collaboration, with an emphasis on improving environmental adaptability and long-term reliability in practical use. Developing low-cost manufacturing methods will be crucial to enable industrial adoption and commercialization. Together, these advances can provide critical support for building an efficient and sustainable society. Ultimately, this paper aims to offer a comprehensive reference to inform future research, engineering applications, and paradigm shifts in smart photothermal regulation, thereby assisting in scientific planning and decision-making for the field.
Cao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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