Cotton modified with silver-nanowires/polydopamine for a wearable thermal management device

Abstract

Currently, indoor heating technology supports people's comfortable working and living conditions, but a large portion of energy is wasted on heating empty space. Target-selective heating can focus energy on specific objects, thus achieving high efficiency at a low cost. Here, we report a personal thermal management cloth that uses a coating of sliver nanowire (AgNW)/polydopamine nanocomposite; the cotton was modified with polydopamine to enhance the adhesive ability of AgNWs through intermolecular cross-linking. The AgNW/polydopamine cloth (ADNC) not only highly reflects middle-to-far infrared radiation from the human body (the average reflectance is up to 86%, approximately 66 times higher than normal cloth), but it also allows Joule heating with a quick thermal response (1 min, from 22 °C to 40 °C). Additionally, the AgNW/polydopamine cloth is durable and washable, making it suitable for a personal thermal management cloth.