Femtosecond laser rapid fabrication of Janus sweat-permeable fabric for personal cooling
Shuai Yang, Zhuo Zhu, Zhipeng Wu, Junrui Wu, Kai Yin
Abstract
Current human body cooling technologies aggravate the energy crisis and cause environmental issues, and an efficient and energy-saving personal comfort cooling technology is critical. Many recent smart cooling textiles involve complex and time-consuming fabrication processes and fail to achieve both comfort drying and cooling functions. Herein, a hydrophobic/superhydrophilic Janus fabric was fabricated rapidly via one-step femtosecond laser direct writing technology, which allowed liquid transport exclusively from the hydrophobic side to the superhydrophilic side at a rapid transport speed. The Janus fabric quickly removed sweat from the skin upon contact with the hydrophobic surface and removed extra heat simultaneously to exhibit a cooling function (about 2 °C lower than traditional fabrics). The Janus fabric also kept the skin dry while removing sweat. This study provides a facile technology for the design and manufacture of comfort cooling fabrics and may play a key role in addressing health, resource, and energy-related issues.