Smart Antibacterial Janus Fabric Based on PVDF/Ag-Decorated-MXene for Unidirectional Water Transport and Thermal...

Maintaining personal comfort through effective antibacterial action, moisture regulation, and thermal management is crucial for wearable textiles, especially during prolonged physical activity, extreme temperatures, and heavy sweating conditions. Herein, we report a multifunctional Janus fabric (PAM-Textile) engineered by integrating a hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) layer with a hydrophilic silver-decorated MXene (Ag@MXene). This asymmetric structure enables highly efficient unidirectional water transport, rapidly drawing sweat away from the skin while preventing reverse flow, thereby maintaining a dry, breathable microenvironment. The PAM-Textile exhibits remarkable wetting contrast: at 0 s, the hydrophobic side shows a water contact angle (WCA) of 120°, while the hydrophilic side measures only 56°. Water droplets transfer from hydrophobic to hydrophilic side within 3 s and are completely absorbed within 4 s, evidenced by a rapid drop in WCA from 120° to 0°. Additionally, the fabric demonstrates excellent thermal regulation, with high solar reflectivity (∼99.9%) in the wavelength range of 0.3-3 µm, an emissivity of 94.3% within the atmospheric transparency window of 8-20 µm, reducing the skin temperature up to ∼12.1°C under artificial sunlight and ∼9.8°C under direct sunlight. Moreover, the PAM-Textile shows broad-spectrum antibacterial performance against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), attributed to the synergistic effect of Ag nanoparticles, MXene nanosheets, and PVDF. The fabric also exhibits strong mechanical stability and wash durability, retaining its multifunctional performance after 10 washings and 20 abrasion cycles. This work presents a scalable and high-performance approach to smart textile design, offering a robust platform for next-generation wearable applications in healthcare, sportswear, and personal protective clothing.