Abstract Saharan silver ants can inhabit one of the hottest areas, the Sahara Desert, which benefits from their thermoregulatory functionality, thanks to a sophisticated photonic structure of hairs. Mimicking the photonic structure, we fabricated the flexible hair-like photonic structures on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Attaching them to glass bottles for a proof-of-concept demonstration, the considerably enhanced optical reflection was observed as well as the slightly improved mid-infrared emission. These extraordinary properties enabled the temperature of the glass bottles to be reduced by around 5.6 °C in the hot daytime and keep relatively warm in the cold nighttime. On the basis of optical and thermal properties of the silver ants-inspired photonic structures, potential applications could be further found in wearable devices and personal thermal management.

中文翻译：

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受撒哈拉银蚁启发的灵活被动辐射冷却

摘要 撒哈拉银蚁可以栖息在最热的地区之一撒哈拉沙漠，这得益于它们的体温调节功能，这要归功于复杂的毛发光子结构。模仿光子结构，我们在聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）上制造了灵活的头发状光子结构。将它们连接到玻璃瓶上进行概念验证演示，观察到显着增强的光学反射以及略微改善的中红外发射。这些非凡的特性使玻璃瓶的温度在炎热的白天降低了约 5.6°C，并在寒冷的夜间保持相对温暖。基于银蚁启发的光子结构的光学和热学特性，