Biomimetic, Hierarchical-Porous Composite Aerogel Fiber with Spectral Selectivity and Water Microchannels for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Textile Engineering
• Thermal Management

Background:

• Human thermal comfort is challenged by solar radiation and heat buildup.
• Existing cooling textiles often lack sufficient radiative or evaporative properties.
• Desert animal hair structures offer inspiration for passive thermal regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop structure-engineered aerogel fibers (SAFs) inspired by desert animal hair.
• To evaluate the radiative and evaporative cooling performance of SAF fabrics.
• To assess the practical application potential of SAFs in multifunctional textiles.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a double-diffusion process in wet spinning to prepare SAFs.
• Characterized SAF fabric properties including emissivity, reflectivity, porosity, and mechanical strength.
• Conducted practical application tests comparing SAF fabric to commercial cotton under simulated solar irradiation and sweat infiltration.

Main Results:

• SAF fabric achieved high emissivity (96.1%) and solar reflectivity (92.3%).
• Internal porosity (~93.9%) facilitated efficient sweat absorption (>80% self-weight) and evaporation (~5.7 g h⁻¹).
• SAF fabric demonstrated significant temperature reduction (~10.6°C to 12.0°C lower than cotton) under various conditions.

Conclusions:

• SAFs offer a cost-effective, high-performance solution for thermal management textiles.
• The developed SAFs exhibit excellent mechanical strength, water resistance, and breathability.
• SAFs present broad application prospects for synergistic evaporative and radiative cooling textiles.