Study and Development of a Novel and Smart Textile for Personal Thermal Management

Energy consumption and climate change are two major issues for mankind in the 21st century. Personal thermal management is emerging as one of the promising solutions to save energy. In this study, we propose developing a novel and smart textile that acts as a thermal insulator in winter but automatically changes to cool the wearer in summer, providing better thermal comfort for people throughout the year. This novel and smart textile is non-toxic and harmless to human beings, and most importantly, it is expected to have a substantial impact on the clothing and textile industries, benefiting most people, especially outdoor laborers and sports enthusiasts. The novel and smart textile is made by a highly mid-infrared transparent polyethylene (PE) and a temperature responsive hydrogel. This unique textile can provide cooling in summer because of the novel PE by the passive radiative cooling technique. Compared to conventional PE, this PE is non-transparent which makes it a perfect choice for a textile. The hydrogel is a thermochromic material which can block sunlight in summer, reducing the heat gain to the human body. Conversely, in winter, the hydrogel allows more sunlight to pass, overcoming heat loss to keep the human body warm. The proposed textile for use in clothing will enhance outdoor working quality and efficiency, and save indoor energy.