Hierarchically Engineered Silk Fibroin Nanotextiles with Spectral Selectivity and Asymmetric Nanostructure for Sustainable Personal Thermal-Wet Regulation

Abstract

Passive cooling strategy with zero-energy consumption is effective in preventing people from heat stress. However, most of the existing radiative cooling textiles are fabricated with non-degradable hydrophobic synthetic polymers and lack the functions of sweat management. Herein, a hierarchically designed dual Janus nanofibrous textile with superior thermal-wet management capability is proposed by targeted selection of spinning solvents with different properties during electrospinning. The embedded Al₂O₃ nanoparticles and BN nanosheets in silk fibroin nanofibers endow the textile with high solar reflectivity (97.12%) and infrared emissivity (98.69%), alongside improved in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity (1.593 and 0.1187 W·K⁻¹·m⁻¹, respectively). Benefiting from the asymmetric characteristics of the two sides in terms of fiber diameter and wettability, the nanofibrous textile exhibits unparalleled water transport index (${\text{R}}$=1028.93%) and exceptional water vapor transmission rate (141.34 g·m⁻²·h⁻¹). The textile integrates radiative cooling, rapid heat conduction, and unidirectional sweat evaporation, achieving a cooling effect exceeding 9 °C under direct sunlight when worn. Moreover, the Janus textile has good biocompatibility, satisfactory wearability and air breathability, ensuring its comfort in wearable applications. Computer simulations complement experimental results, providing insights into the deep-seated mechanisms of nanofiber formation, Mie scattering, and water transport. This innovative design offers promising prospects for the development of next-generation passive-cooling textiles.

Highlights

•	Biodegradable silk fibroin replaces petroleum polymers for passive-cooling textiles.
•	Tunable spinnability is achieved through solvent surface tension/rheology control.
•	Asymmetric pore structures enhance unidirectional sweat transport of Janus textiles.
•	Heat conduction, radiation and evaporation together contribute to multimode cooling.
•	Multiscale simulations elucidate nanofiber formation, radiative cooling, and rapid-drying mechanisms.

Keywords

Nanofibrous fibroin textiles / Hierarchical structure design / Radiative cooling / Unidirectional sweat transport / Rapid heat conduction

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China(22371094)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Donghua University, Shanghai, China