Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Wearable Tailored Passive Radiative Cooling Textile for Flexible Electronic Integration

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

Abstract

Textiles are ideal platforms for wearable electronics due to their inherent softness and superior thermophysiological comfort. However, conventional textiles prioritize wearer comfort at the cost of the stringent thermal-optical demands imposed by embedded electronics, often sacrificing scalability, breathability, electronic integrability, device performance, and user safety. Here, we report a wearable tailored passive radiative cooling textile (WRCT) for seamless integration of flexible electronics. The WRCT was fabricated via a scalable, one-step, and additive-free wet-spinning technique. Hierarchical phase inversion kinetics create microfibers with multiscale porosity and surface nodules, achieving solar reflectance (>95%) and mid-infrared emissivity (0.96). This single-material platform satisfies the conflicting requirements of wearing comfort and electronic functionality by providing breathability, flexibility, and passive daytime thermal management. These properties thermally decouple electronics from the skin and keep skin temperature below 41°C even under intense sunlight (500 W/m2) combined with a localized heat load equivalent to a heat flux of approximately 17 kW/m2 over a 142 mm2 area, simulating high-power microcontrollers, conditions that cause low-temperature burns within minutes on conventional textiles. By converting a commodity polymer into an advanced thermal-optical regulator through a mature and scalable fiber-production process, this textile establishes a practical, safe, and manufacturable foundation for reliable, all-day wearable electronic systems. © 2026 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere24380
Number of pages12
JournalAdvanced Science
Online published18 Mar 2026
DOIs
Publication statusOnline published - 18 Mar 2026

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. T2525024), City University of Hong Kong (grant Nos. 9229197, 9229201, and 9229206) as part of Inno HK Project on Project 2.2 – AI-based 3D ultrasound imaging algorithm at Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-Cardiovascular Health Engineering(COCHE), the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (grants Nos. RFS2324-1S03, R1017-24F, 11211425, 11211523, 11213721, C7005-23Y, T42-513/24-R) This work was also supported by the Korea Planning & Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE, Korea) (RS-2024-00427006)

Research Keywords

  • radiative cooling
  • textile electronics
  • thermal-optical regulation
  • wearable electronics

RGC Funding Information

  • RGC-funded

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Wearable Tailored Passive Radiative Cooling Textile for Flexible Electronic Integration'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this