Development of hygroscopic and exothermic woven textile with enhanced moisture management characteristics

Abstract

Textiles are essential for providing thermal and wet comfort for people as well as aesthetic pleasure since they act as the interface between the human body and the environment. Maintaining thermal comfort is crucial for effective human body energy management in cold weather. It is essential to develop winter fabrics that effectively integrate hygroscopic heat generation and moisture management technologies to keep skin warm and dry for the wearer. In this study, we fabricated bilayer and trilayer woven fabrics with hygroscopic exothermic properties and moisture management performance based on the optimization design of gradient wettability and functional fiber materials. The air permeability, moisture management characteristics, thermal physiological properties, and hygroscopic heat generation performances of the developed fabric were investigated from the perspective of yarn composition and structure. These fabrics were demonstrated to achieve efficient water transport and durative and evenly distributed hygroscopic exothermic properties to avoid the cold moist feeling after sweat. We anticipate that the fabric strategy used in this work can provide valuable structural superiority and performance enhancement for smart thermal and wet comfort textiles.