Scientists in China have developed a material that cools the wearer without using any electricity▷▷◁. The fabric transfers heat◇▪••☆, allows moisture to evaporate from the skin and repels water△▼○▪. Thermal conductivity of the new fabric is higher than that of many other conventional or high-tech fabrics▪▷. The research is published in ACS Applied Materials &☆□◆☆◇; Interfaces…-=■▼.
Cooling off a person&rsquo▪■★-;s body is much more efficient than cooling an entire room or building■-◆▽. Various clothing and textiles have been designed to do just that△△▪◁•, but most have disadvantages▲□△,grs standard such as poor cooling capacity△◁; large electricity consumption▪○☆…=; complex▷•△★,headliner upholstery time-consuming manufacturing▼○■•; and/or high cost●…-◇★.
Yang Si▪○▲•, Bin Ding and colleagues from Donghua University●▲●, Shanghai-▲■◁◆, China◁◇▪☆△, wanted to develop a personal cooling fabric that could efficiently transfer heat away from the body★▼-, while also being breathable▼■•, water repellent and easy to make●☆.
The researchers made the new material by electrospinning a polymer (polyurethane)▲▷□…◇,personalized fabric a water-repelling version of the polymer (fluorinated polyurethane) and a thermally conductive filler (boron nitride nanosheets) into nanofibrous membranes△▼▷. These membranes repelled water from the outside◇•, but they had large enough pores to allow sweat to evaporate from the skin and air to circulate◁◆●▼■. The boron nitride nanosheets coated the polymer nanofibres◁▪, forming a network that conducted heat from an inside source to the outside air-▪-◁●. In tests▷●▷, the thermal conductivity was higher than that of many other conventional or high-tech fabrics◇☆•▪.
The membrane could be useful not only for personal cooling◇▲▷, but also for solar energy collection▼■,SEAQUAL Final Products, seawater desalination and thermal management of electronic devices▼▼, the researchers say▲•.
The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China□○◇, the Interdisciplinary Studies Programme for the Central Universities and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities▪★▽…◁.