Thermoregulatory performance of cellulosic fabric coated with phase change composites

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) are becoming a key component in the design of next-generation textiles that can control temperature in response to ambient temperature for the goal of heat management. The high heat capacity of methyl palmitate (MP) was directly impregnated into porous diatomite in this study at four ratios (40%, 50%, 53%, and 55% by weight). The leakage test showed that composites with 53% and 55% MP exhibited leakage, whereas composites with 40% to 50% MP did not exhibit any leakage. Consequently, the cellulosic fabric coating method employed composites containing 50 wt% MP. A two-component silicone matrix that can be cured at room temperature was mixed with MP/Diatomite composite (MPDIA) in three ratios (10%, 20%, and 30% by weight). The resulting composite-silicone mixture was then applied to the fabric surface. FTIR results showed no chemical interaction between diatomite and MP. The fabrics coated with MPDIA-silicone mixture exhibited melting enthalpy (from 7.4 to 24.2 J/g) and freezing enthalpy (from 7.1 to 23.8 J/g). After 600 thermal cycles, no significant difference was observed in either the phase transition temperatures or latent heats of the coated fabrics. SEM-EDS analyses demonstrate that the coating layer maintains its durability on the textile surface, exhibiting resistance to 10 washes. Under solar exposure conditions, the thermoregulation performance of coated fabric with paste containing silicone and 30% MPDIA (CFMPDIA30) were experimentally assessed. Due to latent heat release, PCM-integrated fabric provided brief nocturnal heating while lowering peak daytime temperatures by up to 6.4 degrees C under intense solar radiation. A dominant and long-lasting cooling impact with a time-limited heating contribution was established by temperature difference analysis.