Scientists have developed a new type of fabric, warming the wearer in the cold and not allowing it to overheat in the heat. The experimental material was established at the Chinese University of science and technology Huajun. It is made of silk yarn and chitosan (a natural compound that is found in shells of crustaceans – approx. ed. TechCult.ru), which form a fiber with a porous microstructure.
These pores are filled with polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is able to change its state of aggregation depending on the temperature: warm, he takes the form of a liquid, but hardens in the cold. And finally, the fibers are coated with organic polymer polydimethylsiloxane for preventing leakage of the PEG when it is in liquid state.
Due to this combination of materials obtained by the filament durable, flexible and repel water. Here’s how proved to be in the test glove, stitched from this fabric: if you place your hand in the glove in the chamber, which is heated to 50 ° C, PEG turned to liquid, absorbing ambient heat and thus cooled leather seats a direct fit to the material. However, once the subject moved the arm into the chamber, cooled to 10 °C, the PEG solidified and released the accumulated heat, thus warmed skin.
Scientists say that in the future the manufacturing process of a new “phase” of the fabric can be deployed on a large scale. And the integration of material into existing textile industry should not be too difficult.
Source — American Chemical Society