Nanoengineered Textiles for Outdoor Personal Cooling and Drying

Abstract

Owing to global temperature increases and frequent extreme weather events, outdoor personal comfort is becoming more critical to human health and sustainable development. Nanoengineered textiles for highly efficient outdoor personal cooling and drying have been rapidly developing in academia and industry over the past decades. Herein, the recent nanoengineered textile advancements, which allow effective and energy-free personal cooling and drying in various outdoor environments, are reviewed. The techniques used for nanoengineered textiles, including nanoporous coating/laminating, direct nanofiber spinning, and nanomaterial coating/embedding, are comprehensively discussed. The detailed heat dissipation and water transport mechanisms are analyzed to provide insights into the synergistic effect of the personal cooling and drying processes, which can create a comfortable microenvironment for the human body. This review highlights the existing gaps in the practical applications and the perspectives on future developments to motivate the development of next-generation nanoengineered textiles. This review of nanoengineered textiles for outdoor personal cooling and drying will further promote the improvement of outdoor space living quality and labor productivity, conducive to satisfying the increasing demands for health, safety, and sustainability.

Recent Advances in Thermoregulatory Clothing: Materials, Mechanisms, and Perspectives

“…51,144 The PDRC textiles with superior properties, such as effective passive cooling, distinct optical scattering, and outstanding wearability, have been manufactured via three primary techniques: 145−147 (1) coating and lamination of functional NPs on the surface of textiles; (2) electrospinning of embedded fillers into thermoregulatory textiles; and (3) knitting or weaving technology to construct sustainable and large-scale temperature-regulating textiles. 148 All techniques are affected by environmental conditions, especially humidity and temperature. The environmental temperature and humidity affect the surface tension of the preused solution and the solvent diffusion process.…”

Polylactic Acid/Calcium Stearate Hydrocharging Melt-Blown Nonwoven Fabrics for Respirator Applications

“…The melt-blown nonwoven fabrics prepared with medium microfiber have both high barrier and absorption effects. 9,10 At present, most disposable melt-blown nonwoven air filter materials are fabricated by nonrenewable nonbiodegradable polypropylene (PP) as a raw material. 11−16 However, owing to the generation of organic pollutants from PP, the environment is polluted seriously.…”

“…A respirator consists of three layers: outer spunbonded nonwoven fabrics, middle melt-blown nonwoven fabrics, and inner spunbonded nonwoven fabrics, where the middle melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer plays the most important role in filtration. − Melt-blown is a promising nonwoven process due to its short processing flow, low cost, and high production efficiency. The melt-blown nonwoven fabrics prepared with medium microfiber have both high barrier and absorption effects. , …”

Asymmetrical Emissivity and Wettability in Stitching Treble Weave Metafabric for Synchronous Personal Thermal‐Moisture Management

“…[ 4,5 ] Textiles have been considered as promising substrates for achieving PTM, as they form a second “skin” that closely bonds with human skin and surrounding environment, enabling body temperature regulation. [ 6 ] However, conventional textiles have limited capabilities in terms of heat regulation, only allowing individuals to tolerate a narrow range of temperatures. Thus, the development of net‐zero energy textiles is desired to dynamically adjust their thermal management properties base on the environmental conditions and the wearer's preference [ 7,8 ]…”

“…closely bonds with human skin and surrounding environment, enabling body temperature regulation. [6] However, conventional textiles have limited capabilities in terms of heat regulation, only allowing individuals to tolerate a narrow range of temperatures. Thus, the development of net-zero energy textiles is desired to dynamically adjust their thermal management properties base on the environmental conditions and the wearer's preference [7,8] The human body employs four pathways (convection, radiation, conduction and evaporation) to maintain a stable body temperature (core temperature range of 2-5 °C).…”