Credit: Nankai University
A team of engineers, materials scientists and chemists from Nankai University, China, has developed a microfiber-based meta-fabric that provides all-day thermoregulation of body temperature during periods of change outdoor temperatures.
In their article published in the journal Science, the group describes how they developed their fabrics, how they work, and how they perform in tests. Xingyi Huang and Pengli, both of Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China, published a Perspective article in the same journal issue describing the work done by the team.
As the researchers note, clothing keeps people warm in cold weather and, in some cases, can help people stay cool in hot weather. Previous research efforts have attempted to expand the capabilities of clothing by adding heating or cooling elements, but so far most of these products have proven too bulky for general use.
Credit: Nankai University
In this new study, researchers built on an earlier innovation of creating microfiber-based metafabrics capable of providing radiative cooling during the day. Researchers sought to combine flexible solar cells with electrocaloric technology to create a microfiber-based fabric that could be used by people in ordinary circumstances.
At the heart of the new fabric is an organic photovoltaic module combined with a bidirectional electrocaloric device. Because both are flexible, the resulting device can be integrated into fabric used to make clothing. Additionally, due to their bidirectionality, these garments can provide warmth or a cooling effect depending on the weather. The research team notes that the tested clothing made with their technology was able to respond quickly to changes in ambient temperature.
Credit: Nankai University
Further testing showed that the clothing they made was capable of providing a person wearing it with 10.1K of cooling for the skin in a hot environment and 3.2K of heating when it was cold. They also found that the clothing was able to maintain skin temperature within a thermal range of 32.0°C and 36.0°C, even though ambient temperatures varied between 12.5°C and 37.6°C. vs.
Credit: Nankai University
More information:
Ziyuan Wang et al, Autonomous all-day personal thermoregulatory clothing using only sunlight, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adj3654
Xingyi Huang et al, Solar-powered clothing for heat and cold, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adl5650
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Quote: Full-day, two-way, solar-powered thermoregulatory clothing capable of responding to temperature changes (December 15, 2023) retrieved December 16, 2023 from
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