Development of ZrC/T-shaped ZnO whisker coated dual-mode Janus fabric for thermal management

The emergence of thermal management technologies is vital to enhancement of personal thermal comfort and reduction in building energy consumption. Despite of tremendous advancement in thermoregulative textiles, the cooling and heating functions are often achieved separately, failing to meet the practical requirements under a dynamically changing thermal environment. Regarding such a significant scientific and technological challenge, we report on an innovative Janus thermoregulative fabric with cooling and heating modes, based on solar heat shielding and photothermal conversion, respectively. The Zirconium carbide (ZrC) nanoparticles with broadband absorption and photo-thermal conversion were deposited one side of a polyester fabric substrate using magnetron sputtering, while the T-shaped ZnO (TZ) micro-whiskers minimizing heat gain in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) were coated on the opposite side with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyurethane (PU) resin. The home-made chambers covered by the Janus fabric are cooled by 5-7 degrees C and warmed by 2-3 degrees C under both indoor and outdoor environments. The photothermal enhancement in the heating mode is significantly improved by over 20% in the solar irradiance absorption, and in the cooling mode, the Janus fabric has a large reflectivity (similar to 90%) and a high emissivity (>90%) in the mid-infrared simultaneously. The fabrication of the present Janus fabric is highly scalable, showing great potential in improving personal thermal management and energy saving of indoor air conditioning.

Automated summary

The emergence of thermal management technologies is crucial for improving personal comfort and reducing energy consumption in buildings. In this study, a novel Janus thermoregulative fabric with separate cooling and heating functions was developed using solar heat shielding and photothermal conversion. The fabric showed significant cooling effect and improved heating performance, making it a promising solution for personal thermal management and energy saving in indoor air conditioning.