Fabrication of a multifunctional antibacterial Cotton-based fabric for personal cooling

Thermoregulatory textiles have gained attention due to their energy-efficiency. In this study, the synthesis of a multifunctional Janus cotton fabric that can improve the cooling efficiency via the synergy between sunlight reflectivity and wick-evaporation is reported. The fabric showed high sunlight reflectivity due to the loaded ZnO (approximately 88 % in solar light region), a desired unidirection water transport index (R = 1058%), and a rapid water evaporation rate (0.18 g h−1). Cooling performance experiments revealed that the maximum thermal dissipation of the multifunctional cotton fabric was 0.28 W cm−2, higher than that of the pristine cotton (0.12 W/cm−2). Furthermore, the excellent antibacterial properties of ZnO demonstrated the composite fabric could mitigate health risks. The fabrication strategy of this multifunctional cotton fabric provides a model for preparing antibacterial cool clothes, thus satisfying the growing demand for better hygiene, and energy sustainability.