Smart fabric adapts to weather conditions to warm or cool the wearer

A new type of smart fabric developed in China heats or cools the skin of its wearer depending on the weather. Scientists took sugar from the skeleton of shellfish to form microscopic holes, which contain a chemical that absorbs and releases thermal energy.  This allows the fabric to adapt to changing weather conditions, keeping its wearer cool in the heat of midday but warm when an evening storm blows in. Garments made from the fabric could be worn indoors as well as outdoors, reducing the need for air conditioning or heat and leading to energy savings.  Smart textiles can sometimes either warm or cool the body, but typically cannot perform both functions.       This new fabric is not only light, strong and can be dyed different colours, but heats and cools skin with no external power source.  Researchers claim to have made a strong, comfortable fabric that heats and cools skin, with no energy input, which is made up of tiny pores. They filled the pores with polyethylene glycol (PEG), a phase-changing polymer that absorbs and releases thermal energy RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next From compression technology to odour-reducing fabric, eight... Forget airplane mode, this is armchair mode: 'Offline chair'... Scientists develop a new type of 'HYPER' glue that creates... Smart patch that measures sweat in athletes could be used to... Share this article Share 39 shares One of the developers told MailOnline that the fabric could potentially be commercialised for clothing, as well as any other fabric products.   'We scientifically designed the inner structure of thin fibres - therefore, anything that can be produced from fibres can incorporate with our technology,' said Professor Guangming Tao at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan.  'It definitely can expand this technology to any fabrics that need to manage temperature, such as tents, umbrellas, curtains, carpet, shoes, bed sheets and many others.'  If used in curtains, for example, the fabric could absorb thermal energy to keep a house cool or release heat during a cold day.  The fabric is made of freeze-spun silk and chitosan, a material from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish, into coloured fibres with porous microstructures. Pores in the fibres are filled with a material that becomes liquid when cold and solid when cool. A layer around the fibres prevents the liquid leaking To develop their fabric, Tao and his fellow researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology used several differeny Daily Chemicals. Firstly, they freeze-spun silk and chitosan, a material from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish, into coloured fibres with porous microstructures. They then filled the pores with polyethylene glycol (PEG), a phase-changing polymer that absorbs and releases thermal energy. They then coated the fabric threads with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a non-toxic, non-flammable organic polymer to keep the liquid PEG from leaking out. To test the fibres, the researchers wove them into a patch of fabric that they put into a polyester glove. The resulting fibres were strong, flexible and water-repellent.  A volunteer wearing the glove then placed their hand in a hot chamber, at 122°F (around 50°C). The smart fabric could be used to manufacture  tents, umbrellas, curtains, carpet, shoes, bed sheets, as well as clothes The solid PEG absorbed heat from the environment, melting into a liquid and cooling the skin under the patch. When the gloved hand moved to a cold chamber at 50°F (1050°C), the PEG solidified, releasing heat and warming the skin. This fabric is unique as it is capable of warming and cooling the wearer's skin -performing both functions when the temperature changes. Traditional 'smart textiles' have only been able to provide one function and often require external power sources, making them less practical. Researchers suggest that the process for making the fabric is compatible with the existing textile industry and could be scaled up for mass production. 'Several textile companies are contacting with us regarding the commercialisation of this technology,' Professor Tao told MailOnline. 'We would be very happy to collaborate with the right manufacturers to move forward.'  The study concludes that this new fabric is more practical for personal thermal management and overcomes limitations of previous garments. The findings were published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.