Recent progress and mechanisms of radiative thermal management smart windows: A review

Radiative thermal management (RTM) smart windows represent an emerging class of adaptive building-envelope technologies that combine dynamic spectral regulation with passive heat dissipation through the atmospheric window. By simultaneously modulating visible light (VIS), near-infrared solar radiation (NIR), and mid-infrared thermal emission (MIR), these systems enable year-round thermal regulation with reduced building energy consumption. This review systematically summarizes recent progress and mechanisms of RTM smart windows. Compared with existing reviews that mainly focus on static radiative cooling materials or single-mode smart windows, this review emphasizes integrated RTM smart windows featuring tri-band (VIS/NIR/MIR) spectral regulation and dual-responsive mechanisms. Firstly, the fundamental principles of radiative thermal management and intelligent response mechanisms are introduced, followed by an overview of key performance. Secondly, the latest progress in electrochromic, thermochromic, and photochromic RTM smart windows is comprehensively reviewed. Particular attention is devoted to dual-responsive mechanism RTM smart windows, which integrate passive and active control to achieve synergistic performance. In summary, this review presents an overview of recent advances and underlying mechanisms in intelligent windows for radiative heat management.