Stanford University in the United States studies new fabrics with strong thermal performance

Researchers at Stanford University in the United States have developed a new fabric that has better heat dissipation than all current natural or synthetic fabrics. They wrote in the journal Science that the clothes made of this fabric in the summer will feel cool and comfortable even in an air-conditioned environment. There are also some fabrics on the market that can effectively evaporate sweat to lower the body temperature. The new fabric uses a completely different cooling mechanism: it promotes heat dissipation by reducing infrared radiation barriers.

This new fabric is somewhat similar to the polyethylene plastic used in our daily life. Kitchen plastics have an important attribute that allows infrared radiation to pass through, but it is impervious to water and transparent, and cannot be used to make clothes at all. Researchers at Stanford University have combined nanotechnology, photonics technology and chemical technology to compensate for these deficiencies in polyethylene.

They found a polyethylene material commonly used in battery manufacturing that has a special nanostructure that is opaque under visible light but does not block infrared radiation. The researchers then used a harmless chemical to make it water-permeable, allowing water vapor molecules to pass through the nanopore of the material. In this way, the improved new material has three basic conditions as a fabric : opaque under visible light, permeable to water, allowing heat to pass through.

In order to make this thin and light material more like a fabric, the researchers designed a three-layer fabric structure with a certain strength and thickness: two layers of polyethylene, separated by a cotton mesh.

The researchers pointed out that all objects, including the human body, are radiated in the form of infrared radiation. Clothes will limit the body's heat and make the skin feel warmer. Therefore, clothes with heat dissipation are the first choice for dressing in hot summer days. . Compared with cotton of the same thickness, the new fabric has better heat dissipation: clothes made with new fabrics will be two degrees Celsius lower than the body temperature of cotton clothes.

Researchers say the new study opens up new avenues for refrigeration or heating technology research: by not using external energy sources, by changing the infrared radiation penetration of materials. And to make new fabrics more like fabrics, more work is needed, such as adding more colors and textures. Perhaps in the near future, people can wear cool and cool air-conditioned clothes to spend the summer.