Fabrication of a Multifunctional Antibacterial Cotton-Based Fabric for Personal Cooling

Abstract

Thermoregulatory textiles have gained attention due to their energy-efficiency. In this study, the synthesis of a multifunctional cotton-based fabric that can improve the cooling efficiency via the synergy between sunlight reflectivity and wick-evaporation is reported. The fabric showed high sunlight reflectivity due to the loaded ZnO (approximately 88% in solar light region), a desired unidirection water transport index (R = 1058%), and a rapid water evaporation rate (0.18 g h −1 ) due to polydimethylsiloxane modified Janus structure. Cooling performance experiments revealed that the maximum thermal dissipation of the multifunctional cotton fabric was 0.28 W cm -2 , higher than that of the pristine cotton (0.12 W/cm -2 ). Furthermore, due to the excellent antibacterial properties of ZnO, the fabric inhibited the growth of microbes, thus mitigating health risks. The fabrication strategy of this multifunctional cotton fabric provides a model for preparing antibacterial cool clothes, thus satisfying the growing demand for better hygiene, and energy sustainability.

Keywords: personal thermal management, unidirectional water transport, antibacterial property, reflective cooling effect, thermal dissipation