Abstract Superhydrophobic smart windows (SWs) hold great potential for use in self‐cleaning, energy‐saving green buildings. SWs resembling nepenthes that respond to external stimuli have gained the interest of researchers; however, it suffer from unreliable service stability and inferior optical switching sensitivity, hindering their practical applications. In this study, a three‐dimensional (3D) magnet‐gated SW fabricated by seeding dual magnetic robotics (DMRs) on a femtosecond‐laser‐printed superhydrophobic transparent droplet‐energy generator is reported. With the help of a remote untethered magnet, coaxially magnetized DMRs with reverse magnetic poles can be shape‐morphed between open and closed states, achieving visibility switching (Δ T vis = 86.3%) and solar modulation (Δ T sol = 75.7%) within 1 s. Owing to its characteristic all‐solid‐state features, the superhydrophobic 3D DMR‐SW maintains its superior self‐cleaning performance even after over 10 000 high‐impact droplet cycles. Notably, the current multi‐layered DMR‐SW can function as an indoor thermal regulator in hot summers and also as an electric generator (instantaneous voltage of ≈35 V) during rainfall. This novel 3D magnet‐gated DMR‐SW with fast responsivity, energy conservation, water repellency, robust longevity, and multifunctionality is envisioned to accelerate the advancement of self‐cleaning optics, hydrovoltaic green buildings, and others.
Chen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.