Summary of results
Moisture and heat management fabrics that remove sweat and regulate skin temperature can improve human comfort. However, fabrics with radiant cooling and rapid thermal evaporation effects remain a challenge that can address both heat and moisture management. Therefore, in this paper, researchers Jing Zhao, Gang Huang and other researchers of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University published the journal "ACS Appl. Nano Mater." entitled "Fabric Comprised of Cotton Impregnated with Graphene Oxide and Coated with Polystyrene for Personal Moisture and Thermal." Management", which studies the preparation of perspiration fabric based on graphene oxide (GO), polystyrene (PS), and cotton (known as G/P-C) using simple immersion and electrospinning strategies.
In the absence of sweating (indoor scene), the fabric exhibits a special ability to radiative cooling. The heat storage capacity of G/P-C fabrics (0.68 W/m2) is lower than that of cotton (4.63 W/m2) because the integrated GO nanosheets absorb infrared radiation (IR) from the human body, indicating that less heat is trapped between the skin and the fabric. In addition, the temperature of human skin covered with G/P-C fabric is reduced by about 1.6°C compared to that covered with cotton. When there is sweating (outdoor scene), the resulting fabric has a surface temperature increase of 3.2°C due to the combination of adsorption by solar radiation and the directional transport of water, and the evaporation rate is almost twice that of cotton. This fabric is expected to shed light on the development of sweat management for personal health and comfort.
Illustrated guide
Figure 1.(a) Schematic diagram of the preparation process of G/P-C fabric. (b) SEM images on the GO and PS sides. (c) Optical image of the rapid sweat transport performance of G/P-C fabrics. (d) Infrared picture of photothermal conversion of cotton and G/P-C fabrics.
Figure 2: Characterization of G/P-C fabrics
Figure 3.(a) Schematic diagram of steady-state heating device (constant temperature at 36.7°C). (b) Data on surface temperature changes in cotton fabrics treated with different GO concentrations. (c) FTIR absorbance spectrum of cotton fabrics treated with different GO concentrations (blue background represents human radiation bands). (d) Surface temperature curves of cotton, G-C and G/P-C fabrics during heating and cooling.
Figure 4.(a) Infrared thermographic measurement of the outer surface temperature of cotton fabrics and G/P-C fabrics. (b) Thermocouple measurement of skin temperature changes under different fabric coverings (c) Schematic diagram of the mechanism of heat absorption and release of human radiation. (d) Heat storage capacity of cotton fabrics and G/P-C fabrics (q). (e) Comparison of cooling performance between G/P-C fabrics and fabrics in previously reported papers.
Figure 5: Photothermal conversion and sweat evaporation performance of G/P-C fabric
Figure 6: Illustration of human evaporation experiment using simulated solar radiation by placing cotton and G/P-C fabric on sweat-covered skin
brief summary
In summary, a double-layer cotton fabric with anisotropic wetting was created to improve sweat evaporation and infrared cooling performance. With the fabric's excellent personal heat and moisture management properties, this research is expected to provide new inspiration for the design of sportswear and multifunctional fabrics, provide a comfortable microclimate for the human body, and provide sustainable energy-saving measures in a society with overexploited energy.
Literature:
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c05582