The record temperatures continue to rise, giving us a glimpse of what the climate will look like in a few decades. The increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves will have an impact on our wardrobe, with some materials being better suited to high temperatures than others. A research team is working to create a new fabric with cooling properties.
Engineers affiliated with the universities of Zhengzhou (China) and South Australia have developed a textile that acts as a heat shield. Its complex structure reflects sunlight while dissipating heat, thanks to a process called "radiative cooling".
The technology involves using materials that can emit heat into the atmosphere and, beyond that, into space. " Unlike conventional fabrics that retain heat, this type of textile is made up of three layers designed to optimize the cooling process," explains Yangzhe Hou, a researcher at the University of South Australia, in a press release.
The fabric that Yangzhe Hou and his colleagues designed consists of three specific layers: a polymethylpentene fiber on the surface to maximize heat dissipation, a middle layer of silver nanowires to reflect solar rays, and finally a third layer of wool to more easily evacuate heat from the body. What if the fabrics of tomorrow's clothing helped us cool down?
In a study published in the journal Science Bulletin, the researchers explain that this textile is much more cooling than traditional fabrics. It can lower body temperature by 2.3°C during hot weather. When used as an outer covering, it can reduce the temperature of the fabric by 6.2°C. "The ability of this fabric to passively reduce temperatures offers a sustainable alternative to traditional air conditioning, saving energy and minimizing the strain on power grids during heat waves," Yangzhe Hou said in the same press release.
This textile could be used as a basis for clothing, but also as a covering for the buildings of tomorrow. However, its manufacturing process is very expensive, which could have an impact on its sale price. " Consumers are willing to pay more for a fabric based on its cooling effect, durability, comfort and their own sensitivity to the environmental cause," the researchers estimate in their study.
This isn't the first time engineers have developed cooling materials using radiative cooling. In August, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst announced they had created one based on chalk.