Science Alert July 13, 2021
The metafabric developed by researchers in China uses titanium oxide-polylactic acid composite nanoparticles laminated with a thin layer of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It is designed to strongly reflect visible light (VIS), mid-infrared (MIR) and ultraviolet (UV) ranges. The wide distribution of nanoparticles, when combined with PTFE nanobeads, provides broad-spectrum scattering and reflectivity across the UV-VIS-NIR band. They tested the material in clear sky conditions measuring the temperature of the fabric in comparison to other common materials lying on a panel. Under peak solar irradiance between 11:00 and 15:00, the temperature of the metafabric was approximately 5.0°, 6.8°, 7.0°, 5.8°, and 10.2° C lower than that of cotton, spandex, chiffon, linen, and bare skin simulators, respectively. While the metafabric certainly shows considerable promise for cooling both people and things, it has not been tested on moving individuals wearing the fabric as their clothing or how effective it is when the fabric is dyed. The material is compatible with commercial sewing techniques and comparable to fabrics in durability and water resistance…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ