Wearable phase change nanofibrous membranes for personal thermal management

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) have garnered extensive attention in fields such as textiles, aerospace, and electronic devices due to their high energy density, constant temperature during energy storage/release, and environmental friendliness. However, the poor flexibility and leakage issues of PCMs during use have limited their applications. This study adopts a two-step method to fabricate phase change nanofibrous membranes. In the first step, a solid-solid phase-change polyurethane (PCPU) is chemically synthesized, achieving a melting enthalpy of 87.26 J g−1, negligible mass loss below 200 °C, and excellent cyclic stability. In the second step, phase change nanofibrous membranes (PCPU-TPU) are prepared via electrospinning, exhibiting superior flexibility, breathability, leakage resistance, and hydrophilicity. Notably, PCPU-TPU does not fracture after folding, stretching, or twisting. Finally, PCPU-TPU is applied as a fabric covering on the human body for thermal management testing. After high-intensity exercise, PCPU-TPU demonstrates a significantly lower surface temperature compared to general cotton fabric (a temperature difference of up to 3.1 °C). Thermal management tests confirm PCPU-TPU's excellent personal thermal management performance, effectively reducing human surface temperature under hot conditions. The PCPU-TPU developed in this study exhibits outstanding flexibility, breathability, hydrophilicity, and personal thermal management capabilities, demonstrating significant potential for applications in flexible wearable devices.