Sustainable Kapok/cotton/graphene-based textiles for thermal regulation and moisture control with innovative composite

Abstract

Personal thermal and moisture management (PTAMM) clothing is essential to maintain human comfort and safeguard sports health when doing outdoor sports and adventures in cold environment. In this work, different kinds of composite yarns were spun from graphene polyester filament, kapok and cotton fibers (KCG yarns) using ELS technology, and then functional KCG fabrics were prepared. With one-sun simulation irradiation, the surface temperature of KCG-K3 fabric and artificial skin under cover increased by about 10℃and 8℃ compared with cotton fabric, respectively, showing active light absorption and thermal production functions. After turning off light source, KCG-K3 fabric shows obvious heat storage and insulation section, with temperature of the skin under cover about 3℃ higher than that of pure cotton fabric, which has wonderful passive thermal insulation function. The rapid moisture absorption and permeability of KCG-K3 fabric are also superior to cotton fabric. The combined effect of photothermal conversion and moisture absorption can promote sweat evaporation with outstanding evaporation rate (0.047 g·min-1). More importantly, the KCG-K3 textile has excellent UV-blocking property, with a UPF value 2.5 times that of cotton fabric. In outdoor test, it was proved that KCG-K3 textile were 5 ℃ higher than cotton textile under direct sunlight. The tensile and abrasion resistance properties of KCG-K3 fabric are superior to those of cotton fabric. Functional KCG-K3 fabric with excellent thermal and moisture management property, providing a warm and dry microenvironment for the skin of cold-weather athletes. This research offers a simple and eco-friendly approach for the development of PTAMM system.