Cooling Materials Are Demanded In The Weather Like Malaysia

Materials scientists have designed an advanced textile with nano-scale threads containing in their core a phase-change material that can store and release large amounts of heat when the material changes phase from liquid to solid. Combining the threads with electrothermal and photothermal coatings that enhance the effect, they have in essence developed a fabric that can both quickly cool the wearer down and warm them up as conditions change.

A paper describing the manufacturing technique appeared in ACS Nano on August 10.

Many occupations, from firefighters to farmworkers, involve harsh hot or cold environments. Cold storage, ice rinks, steel forges, bakeries, and many other job sites require workers to make frequent transitions between different and sometimes extreme temperatures. Such regular temperature changes are not only uncomfortable but can cause illness or even injury, and require a cumbersome constant change of clothing. A sweater will keep a worker warm in a cold meat locker, but could overheat the same worker when they leave that space.