Nanoporous polyethylene microfibres for large-scale radiative cooling fabric

Yucan Peng, Jun Chen, Alex Y. Song, Peter B. Catrysse, Po Chun Hsu, Lili Cai, Bofei Liu, Yangying Zhu, Guangmin Zhou, David S. Wu, Hye Ryoung Lee, Shanhui Fan, Yi Cui

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Global warming and energy crises severely limit the ability of human civilization to develop along a sustainable path. Increasing renewable energy sources and decreasing energy consumption are fundamental steps to achieve sustainability. Technological innovations that allow energy-saving behaviour can support sustainable development pathways. Energy-saving fabrics with a superior cooling effect and satisfactory wearability properties provide a novel way of saving the energy used by indoor cooling systems. Here, we report the large-scale extrusion of uniform and continuous nanoporous polyethylene (nanoPE) microfibres with cotton-like softness for industrial fabric production. The nanopores embedded in the fibre effectively scatter visible light to make it opaque without compromising the mid-infrared transparency. Moreover, using industrial machines, the nanoPE microfibres are utilized to mass produce fabrics. Compared with commercial cotton fabric of the same thickness, the nanoPE fabric exhibits a great cooling power, lowering the human skin temperature by 2.3 °C, which corresponds to a greater than 20% saving on indoor cooling energy. Besides the superior cooling effect, the nanoPE fabric also displays impressive wearability and durability. As a result, nanoPE microfibres represent basic building blocks to revolutionize fabrics for human body cooling and pave an innovative way to sustainable energy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)105-112
Number of pages8
JournalNature Sustainability
Volume1
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2018
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Global and Planetary Change
  • Food Science
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Ecology
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Urban Studies
  • Nature and Landscape Conservation
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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