Efficient and Robust Molecular Solar Thermal Fabric for Personal Thermal Management

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Molecular solar thermal (MOST) materials offer on-demand heat release from captured solar energy for personal thermal management (PTM).
• Developing MOST fabrics faces challenges due to low energy density and material leakage, hindering practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer an efficient and robust MOST fabric for PTM applications.
• To enhance energy storage capacity and long-term stability of MOST materials in a fabric form.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of MOST materials using azopyrazole-containing microcapsules with a deep-UV-filter shell.
• Characterization of photocharging/discharging efficiency, energy density, and long-term storage sustainability.
• Evaluation of fabric durability through washing, rubbing, and recharging cycles.

Main Results:

• Achieved efficient photocharging and photo-discharging (>90% photoconversion).
• Demonstrated a high energy density of 2.5 kJ m^-2 with month-scale storage sustainability.
• Confirmed robustness through multiple washing, rubbing, and recharging cycles without significant capacity loss.

Conclusions:

• The developed MOST fabric offers high energy-storage performance and robustness for PTM.
• The microcapsule strategy enables scalable production for applications like solar thermal moxibustion.
• This work presents a viable pathway for wearable MOST materials in personal thermal management.