Tailor-Made White Photothermal Fabrics: A Bridge between Pragmatism and Aesthetic

Jian Chang, Le Shi, Miao Zhang, Renyuan Li, Yifeng Shi, Xiaowen Yu, Kanglei Pang, Liangti Qu, Peng Wang, Jiayin Yuan

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Maintaining human thermal comfort in the cold outdoors is crucial for diverse outdoor activities, e.g., sports and recreation, healthcare, and special occupations. To date, advanced clothes are employed to collect solar energy as a heat source to stand cold climates, while their dull dark photothermal coating may hinder pragmatism in outdoor environments and visual sense considering fashion. Herein, tailor-made white webs with strong photothermal effect are proposed. With the embedding of cesium–tungsten bronze (CsxWO3) nanoparticles (NPs) as additive inside nylon nanofibers, these webs are capable of drawing both near-infrared (NIR) and ultraviolet (UV) light in sunlight for heating. Their exceptional photothermal conversion capability enables 2.5–10.5 °C greater warmth than that of a commercial sweatshirt of six times greater thickness under different climates. Remarkably, this smart fabric can increase its photothermal conversion efficiency in a wet state. It is optimal for fast sweat or water evaporation at human comfort temperature (38.5 °C) under sunlight, and its role in thermoregulation is equally important to avoid excess heat loss in wilderness survival. Obviously, this smart web with considerable merits of shape retention, softness, safety, breathability, washability, and on-demand coloration provides a revolutionary solution to realize energy-saving outdoor thermoregulation and simultaneously satisfy the needs of fashion and aesthetics.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAdvanced Materials
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • coloration
  • personalized thermoregulation
  • polymer–inorganic composites
  • smart fabrics
  • solar heating

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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