Enhancing the infrared and visible emission properties of calcium silicate hydrate for radiative cooling using metamaterials

Two periodic structures composed of metal cylinders with different orientations are used to improve the solar reflection of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) while maintaining its atmospheric emission. Interesting effects have been found when the distance between bars is small, suggesting that lattice effects, arising from the interaction between the rods could be leveraged in the design of these metamaterials. The size of the metal bars is selected based on state of the art micromanufacturing techniques. This study limits its scope to a CSH gel model; i.e. the most important component of cement-based materials. Further research will be undertaken to consider a best description of the dielectric function of concrete.