Dope-Dyed Colorful Electrospun Polyamide Nanofibrous Membrane for Multiband Personal Thermal Camouflage

For extended period, research in personal thermal camouflage (PTM) has received limited attention and still struggle with multiband compatibility. Here, molecular-level color modification is imparted to polyamide 66 (PA66) via a one-step dope-dyeing electrospinning process, resulting in the first instance of visible (VIS) colored PA66 nonwovens without sacrificing their infrared (IR) transparency. The dope-dyed PA66 nanofibrous membrane enables simultaneous customization of VIS chromaticity and IR emissivity through the systematic tuning of its structural parameters, thereby expanding its applicability in diverse camouflage scenarios. A collection of colored PA66 fibrous assemblies with varying IR transmittance levels is electrospun for substrate-assisted static or adaptive camouflage, VIS-colored while IR-selective heat dissipation (circa 2-3.5 °C cooling effect), and spatially segmented emittance patterns facing inhomogeneous background. Dope-dyed electrospun PA66 offers the potential to counterbalance multifaceted challenges, involving VIS-IR compatibility, thermophysiological comfort, and retained permeability through the micro/nanopores between randomly staggered nanofibers.