Solar heat shielding performance of potassium titanate whisker coated polypropylene fabric based on a bionic method

Inspired by the special whisker-shaped hairs from the Saharan silver ants (SSant), we fabricated a bionic solar heat shielding fabric by coating prismatic potassium titanate whiskers (PTW) with the binder of polyurethane (PU) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the polypropylene (PP) fabric. The test results show that the bionic PTW coated fabric can reflect nearly 90% of the solar irradiance, thus effectively reducing the received radiant power. The solar shielding ability of the fabricated fabric is positively correlated with the density of the coated PTW. Under the same conditions, the surface temperature covered by the as-prepared fabric, compared to the uncoated fabric, can be reduced by 21.3 °C. More so, the thermal conductivity, thermal transmittance, the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), water repellency and mechanical properties of the coated fabric are also significantly improved. In summary, the bionic PTW coated fabrics possess the similar thermal shielding functions as the silver ant microhairs. This study provides a strategy for bionic designing and development of solar heat shielding fabric.