Sustainable Oily Liquid‐Proof Passive Cooling (SOC) Textile for Personal Thermal Management

Abstract

AbstractSweat passive‐cooling textiles with asymmetric wettabilities on different sides offer an effective and low‐energy consumption solution to personal thermal management in extreme thermal environments. However, the sweat‐wicking and the cooling abilities decrease when the textile is contaminated by low‐surface tension oily liquid fouling. The integration of anti‐oily liquid fouling and sweat‐wicking abilities on textile involves resolving the contradiction between hydrophilic and oleophobic properties and seeking eco‐friendly short‐chain fluorides to reduce the surface energy. Herein, a sustainable oily liquid‐proof passive cooling (SOC) textile for personal thermal management is proposed. The SOC textile is obtained by applying a fluoride‐free hydrophobic coating layer to one side of the high thermal conductive superoleophobic/superhydrophilic basal textile, which is fabricated using eco‐friendly short‐chain fluoride. The SOC textile preserves the anti‐oily liquid fouling property even after 2000 abrasion cycles. Experimental test revealed that the SOC textile exhibits a cooling effect of ≈5 °C compared with the cotton textile, and the up to 70% reduction in sweating rate under the constant metabolic heat production rates. The configuration of the SOC textile would inspire the future design of intelligent textiles for personal thermal management, and the proposed strategy have implications for fabrication of eco‐friendly oil‐water separation materials.