Multifunctional Stratified Membrane Enables Integrated and Adaptive Thermal Management

Abstract

The rising frequency of extreme weather events driven by global climate change has created the pressing need for advanced thermal management systems. This study presents a cooling-phase change-heating (CPH) membrane inspired by the functional layering concept of down jackets, where each layer serves a distinct yet complementary role. The cooling side consists of a thermoplastic polyurethane-based fibrous membrane integrated with SiO₂-encapsulated paraffin wax (PW@SiO₂), which provides effective solar scattering for high reflectance and smoother thermal regulation. On the heating side, polypyrrole (PPy) is directly grown on the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) membrane (PPy–TPU), serving as a combined photothermal and electrothermal layer for controllable heat input and rapid thermal compensation. The CPH membrane delivers a cooling power of 126 W m⁻², with 96.4% reflectivity and 93.7% emissivity, resulting in an average temperature reduction of 6.3 °C assisted by heat absorption of PW@SiO₂. In the heating mode, the PPy–TPU layer exhibits a solar absorptance of 97.4%, increasing the temperature by 23.7 °C, while additional Joule heating elevates the membrane temperature to 37 °C under a low input voltage of 4 V. This adaptive buffering and active compensation strategy closely align with practical engineering needs for dynamic thermal regulation, promoting energy conservation and reducing reliance on traditional energy sources.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Thermal management / Radiative cooling / Solar heating / Phase-change material

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Funding

Key Technologies Research and Development Program(2022YFB3902704)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Donghua University, Shanghai, China