Nanoengineered Textiles for Outdoor Personal Cooling and Drying

Owing to global temperature increases and frequent extreme weather events, outdoor personal comfort is becoming more critical to human health and sustainable development. Nanoengineered textiles for highly efficient outdoor personal cooling and drying have been rapidly developing in academia and industry over the past decades. Herein, the recent nanoengineered textile advancements, which allow effective and energy-free personal cooling and drying in various outdoor environments, are reviewed. The techniques used for nanoengineered textiles, including nanoporous coating/laminating, direct nanofiber spinning, and nanomaterial coating/embedding, are comprehensively discussed. The detailed heat dissipation and water transport mechanisms are analyzed to provide insights into the synergistic effect of the personal cooling and drying processes, which can create a comfortable microenvironment for the human body. This review highlights the existing gaps in the practical applications and the perspectives on future developments to motivate the development of next-generation nanoengineered textiles. This review of nanoengineered textiles for outdoor personal cooling and drying will further promote the improvement of outdoor space living quality and labor productivity, conducive to satisfying the increasing demands for health, safety, and sustainability.

Automated summary

Due to global temperature increases and extreme weather events, outdoor personal comfort is crucial for human health and sustainable development. This review discusses the advancements in nanoengineered textiles for efficient outdoor personal cooling and drying, highlighting the techniques used and the mechanisms involved. The review also identifies gaps in practical applications and provides perspectives on future developments.