Dynamic Thermal-Regulating Textiles with Metallic Fibers Based on a Switchable Transmittance

Personal radiative thermal management using photonic smart textiles has become a center of attention due to its potential to facilitate thermal comfort, and to decrease the energy cost for heating and cooling. Here, we provide an approach for a dynamic transmittance switch textile (DTST): a dynamic, passive, radiative thermal regulating fabric that controls the infrared (IR) transmission by adapting to the ambient temperature and humidity. The DTST is constituted from metal-coated monofilaments and stimuli-responsive polymer actuator beads, in this way benefiting from multiple IR photonic effects to strongly control the wide-band transmission of thermal radiation and to provide for a sharp, dynamic response. This design shows a wide dynamic ambient setpoint temperature window of approximately 16 degrees C, meaning that the wearer is comfortable between 9.5 and 25.7 degrees C, wider than any theoretically reported or fabricated switchable fabric. This performance indicates a polyvalent user comfort and an important energy saving potential for residential and office buildings.