Controllable large-scale processing of temperature regulating sheath-core fibers with high-enthalpy for thermal management

Abstract

Temperature regulating fibers (TRF_s) with high enthalpy and high form stability are the key factors for thermal management. However, the enthalpies of most TRF_s are not high, and the preparation methods are still at the laboratory scale. It remains a great challenge to use industrial spinning equipment to achieve continuous processing of TRF_s with excellent thermal and mechanical properties. Here, polyamide 6 (PA6) based TRF_s with a sheath-core structure were prepared by bicomponent melt-spinning. The sheath-core TRF (TRF_sc) are composed of PA6 as sheath and functional PA6 as core, which are filled with the shape stable phase change materials (ssPCM), dendritic silica@polyethylene glycol (SiO₂@PEG). With the aid of the sheath structure, the filling content of SiO₂@PEG can reach 30 ​%, so that the enthalpy of the TRF_s can be as high as 21.3 ​J/g. The ultra-high enthalpy guarantees the temperature regulation ability during the alternating process of cooling and heating. In hot environment, the temperature regulation time is 6.59 ​min, and the temperature difference is 12.93 ​°C. In addition, the mechanical strength of the prepared TRF_sc reaches 2.26 cN/dtex, which can fully meet its application in the field of thermal management textiles and devices to manage the temperature regulation of the human body or precision equipment, etc.