Molecularly Engineered Polyimide Films with Switchable Cavitation for Bidirectional Passive Thermal Regulation

Qiao-Ran Zhang; Xin-Fei Wang; Ya-Nan Chen; Bo-Yuan Zhou; Hong-Liang Wei; Xiao-Yu Cao; Jin Wang

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3687-5

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Molecularly Engineered Polyimide Films with Switchable Cavitation for Bidirectional Passive Thermal Regulation

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-08-31

- Molecularly Engineered Polyimide Films with Switchable Cavitation for Bidirectional Passive Thermal Regulation
- Molecularly Engineered Polyimide Films with Switchable Cavitation for Bidirectional Passive Thermal Regulation
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science 2026年44卷第9期页码：3119-3128
- Affiliations：
  
  a.School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
  b.Key Laboratory of Multifunctional Nanomaterials and Smart Systems, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
- Author bio：
  
  qrzhang@haut.edu.cn (Q.R.Z.)
  caoxy@haut.edu.cn (X.Y.C.)
  jwang2014@sinano.ac.cn (J.W.)
- Funds：
  
  This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (No. 252300421539), High-level Talent Funds of Henan University of Technology (No. 2023BS067), Key Science and Technology Project of Henan Province (No. 252102231061), Horizontal project (No. 098H2024HG098), and Basic Research Program of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20240027).;The authors declare no interest conflict.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) is available free of charge in the online version of this article at http://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3687-5.The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3687-5
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2026-01-13，
  
  录用：2026-03-27，
  
  网络首发：2026-06-26，
  
  纸质出版：2026-09-05
- Accepted：
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Zhang, Q. R.; Wang, X. F.; Chen, Y. N.; Zhou, B. Y.; Wei, H. L.; Cao, X. Y.; Wang, J. Molecularly engineered polyimide films with switchable cavitation for bidirectional passive thermal regulation. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3119–3128

Qiao-Ran Zhang, Xin-Fei Wang, Ya-Nan Chen, et al. Molecularly Engineered Polyimide Films with Switchable Cavitation for Bidirectional Passive Thermal Regulation[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(9): 3119-3128.
Zhang, Q. R.; Wang, X. F.; Chen, Y. N.; Zhou, B. Y.; Wei, H. L.; Cao, X. Y.; Wang, J. Molecularly engineered polyimide films with switchable cavitation for bidirectional passive thermal regulation. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3119–3128 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3687-5.

Qiao-Ran Zhang, Xin-Fei Wang, Ya-Nan Chen, et al. Molecularly Engineered Polyimide Films with Switchable Cavitation for Bidirectional Passive Thermal Regulation[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(9): 3119-3128. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3687-5.

摘要

Structure-tunable polyimide films enable radiative cooling (about 90% reflectivity

is about –6 °C) and solar heating (about 88.7% transmittance

is about +8 °C)

while offering flame retardancy

thermal stability

and UV/acid resistance.

Abstract

Passive thermal regulation materials offer a promising route toward energy-efficient building and smart devices. However

achieving both passive radiative cooling and solar-driven heating within a single polymeric system remains a significant challenge due to trade-offs in optical transparency

solar reflectivity

and environmental durability. Herein

we report a molecularly engineered polyimide (PI) film platform with switchable cavitation (realized through controlled cross-linking) that enables bidirectional thermal regulation. By tuning the molecular architecture

the PI films can be fabricated into either a highly porous

white reflective film for passive cooling (about 90% solar reflectivity

is about –6 °C) or a transparent solid film for passive heating (about 88.7% solar transmittance

is about +8 °C). The films exhibit excellent flame retardancy (PHRR is about 7.98 W·g

–1

)

thermal stability (

max

500 °C)

and environmental resistance to UV and acidic conditions. Comprehensive outdoor and simulated tests confirm their dual-mode thermal regulation capabilities. This work presents a versatile strategy for designing robust

multifunctional PI materials for year-round thermal management in extreme environments

paving the way for next-generation energy-saving polymers.

关键词

Keywords

references

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