Textile solar light collectors based on models for polar bear hair

Bahners, Thomas; Schlösser, U. G.; Gutmann, Rainer; Schollmeyer, Eckhard

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2008.07.023

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…The scales bend toward the surface (Figure 4c) and the tilt angle along the RO direction (ω 1 ) is smaller than that against the RO direction (ω 2 ) (Figure 4d). On the surface Nepenthes alata Continuous directional water transport, anisotropic waterlubricated [29][30][31] Butterfly wing Structural color, antireflection, directional adhesion, superhydrophobicity, AF [32][33][34][35][36] Cicada wing Antireflection, superhydrophobicity [37,38] Gecko foot Reversible adhesive, superhydrophobicity [39][40][41] Lotus leaf Superhydrophobicity, self-cleaning, low adhesion [42][43][44] Mosquito compound eye, fly-eye Superhydrophobicity, AF [45,46] Nacre Mechanical property, strength, toughness [47] Rose petal Superhydrophobicity, high adhesion [48,49] Shark skin Oleophobicity, low drag, antifouling [50,51] Water strider leg Superhydrophobicity, waterrepellent, AF [52,53] Rice leaf Superhydrophobicity, anisotropic wetting, low drag [54,55] Cactus stem Fog collection [56][57][58] Peacock feather Structural color [59,60] Beetle Fog-collecting, structural color [61,62] Polar bear hairs Thermal insulating, light transmission [63,64] Moth-eye Antireflection, AF [65] Spider silk Directional water collection, mechanical property…”

Section: Butterfly Wingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flourishing Bioinspired Antifogging Materials with Superwettability: Progresses and Challenges

et al. 2018

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Antifogging (AF) structure materials found in nature have great potential for enabling novel and emerging products and technologies to facilitate the daily life of human societies, attracting enormous research interests owing to their potential applications in display devices, traffics, agricultural greenhouse, food packaging, solar products, and other fields. The outstanding performance of biological AF surfaces encourages the rapid development and wide application of new AF materials. In fact, AF properties are inextricably associated with their surface superwettability. Generally, the superwettability of AF materials depends on a combination of their surface geometrical structures and surface chemical compositions. To explore their general design principles, recent progresses in the investigation of bioinspired AF materials are summarized herein. Recent developments of the mechanism, fabrication, and applications of bioinspired AF materials with superwettability are also a focus. This includes information on constructing superwetting AF materials based on designing the topographical structure and regulating the surface chemical composition. Finally, the remaining challenges and promising breakthroughs in this field are also briefly discussed.

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Section: Butterfly Wingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flourishing Bioinspired Antifogging Materials with Superwettability: Progresses and Challenges

et al. 2018

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“…This strategy is used by Saharan silver ants, polar bears, and moths . There is convincing evidence that, under the extremely high solar insolation of the polar environment, certain cold-adapted animals use low optical density (lightly colored) insulating features to achieve a biological, on-body greenhouse effect. − Compared to darkly colored outer features, for example, the light-colored fur of the polar bear and harp seal transmits significantly more radiation toward the skin, trapping heat with solar utilization factors ranging from 10 to 50%. , Light-to-heat (photothermal) generation is enhanced by skin enrichment with melanin, an optically dense biopolymer comprised of conjugated units with a high refractive index and broadband light absorption. , Thermoregulating melanin surfaces are also used by species of moths, butterflies, and birds that have adapted to cold and sunny climates. , Such surfaces may also exhibit selective absorption in the visible and near-infrared (vis–NIR) spectrum, where photothermal heating takes place, and reflection over the infrared (IR), where objects spontaneously radiate heat according to Planck’s law . Solar collection supports thermal homeostasis by accessing a huge potential energy source with magnitudes exceeding 1000 W/m 2 , i.e., up to 10 times the basal metabolic heat production of common endotherms. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar Thermal Textiles for On-Body Radiative Energy Collection Inspired by Polar Animals

Viola

Zhao

Andrew

2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Humans use textiles to maintain thermal homeostasis amidst environmental extremes but known textiles have limited thermal windows. There is evidence that polar-dwelling animals have evolved a different mechanism of thermoregulation by using optical polymer materials to achieve an on-body “greenhouse” effect. Here, we design a bilayer textile to mimic these adaptations. Two ultralightweight fabrics with complementary optical functions, a polypropylene visible-transparent insulator and a nylon visible-absorber–infrared-reflector coated with a conjugated polymer, perform the same putative function as polar bear hair and skin, respectively. While retaining familiar textile qualities, these layers suppress dissipation of body heat and maximize radiative absorption of visible light. Under moderate illumination of 130 W/m2, the textile achieves a heating effect of +10 °C relative to a typical cotton T-shirt which is 30% heavier. Current approaches to personal radiative heating are limited to absorber/reflector layer optimization alone and fail to reproduce the thermoregulation afforded by the absorber–transmitter structure of polar animal pelts. With increasing pressures to adapt to a rapidly changing climate, our work leverages optical polymers to bridge this gap and evolve the basic function of textiles.

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“…As a protein fiber, the polar bear hair is not much different in appearance from other protein fibers such as the wool fiber ( Fan et al, 2019 ) and down fiber ( Yang et al, 2011 ). Much attention has been paid to the optical properties ( Lavigne and Øritsland, 1974bib_Lavigne_and_Øritsland_1974 ; Grojean et al, 1980 and 1981 ; Koon, 1998 ) and chemical properties of polar bear hairs, and many biomimetic designs were proposed, including thermally insulating fabrics ( Cui et al, 2018 ), textile solar light collectors ( Bahners et al, 2008 ), and polar bear hair–based solar sensors ( Tributsch et al, 1990 ). Many researchers have studied hair cortisol concentration ( Mislan et al, 2016 ), which is considered a biomarker.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intelligent Nanomaterials for Solar Energy Harvesting: From Polar Bear Hairs to Unsmooth Nanofiber Fabrication

Wang

2022

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Polar bears can live in an extremely cold environment due to their hairs which possess some remarkable properties. The hollow structure of the hair enables the bear to absorb energy from water, and the white and transparent hairs possess amazing optical properties. However, the surface morphology function of bear hairs has been little-studied. Herein, we demonstrate that the micro-structured scales distributed periodically along the hair can absorb maximal radiative flux from the Sun. This polar bear hair effect has the ability for the hair surface not to reflect radiation with a wavelength of about 500 nm. Mimicking the polar bears’ solar performance in the fabrication of nanofibers will certainly stimulate intelligent nanomaterials for efficient solar energy absorption. Therefore, a new technology is discussed in this work for the fabrication of periodic unsmooth nanofibers toward solar energy harvesting.

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Textile solar light collectors based on models for polar bear hair

Cited by 16 publications

References 9 publications

Flourishing Bioinspired Antifogging Materials with Superwettability: Progresses and Challenges

Flourishing Bioinspired Antifogging Materials with Superwettability: Progresses and Challenges

Solar Thermal Textiles for On-Body Radiative Energy Collection Inspired by Polar Animals

Intelligent Nanomaterials for Solar Energy Harvesting: From Polar Bear Hairs to Unsmooth Nanofiber Fabrication

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