MOF-Based Hierarchical Bilayer Membranes for Radiative Evaporative Cooling in Fruit Preservation

• • The PZ-PML membrane achieves a solar reflectance of 97.64% and mid-infrared emissivity of 92.5%, enabling a radiative cooling power of 70 W/m2, which is critical for passive cooling under direct sunlight without energy input. • • The bottom PML layer exhibits a water uptake of 2.18 g/g at 80% RH, delivering an evaporative cooling power of ~156 W/m2, which significantly enhances cooling performance beyond radiative cooling alone. • • Under ~400 W/m2 irradiation, the membrane reduces surface temperature by 6.1 °C, and combined radiative and evaporative cooling yield stable temperature reductions of 6.8 °C during the day and 4.1 °C at night, demonstrating practical cooling efficacy. • • The membrane shows ≥99% antibacterial efficiency against E. coli and S. aureus, and in strawberry preservation trials, it reduced dehydration to 20.2% after 9 days compared to 68.2% and 74.4% in controls, indicating a substantial extension of shelf life and reduction of postharvest losses.