Outdoor Personal Thermal Management with Simultaneous Electricity Generation

Abstract Enhancing the personal thermal comfort in outdoor environment is of substantial significance to ameliorate the health conditions of pedestrian and outdoor laborer. However, the uncontrollable sunlight, substantial radiative loss, and intense temperature change in the outdoor environment present majestic challenges to outdoor personal thermal management. To date, a wearable device with optional passive heating and cooling abilities to abet people combat extreme temperatures in outdoor spaces, is lacking. Here, we report an eco-friendly passive textile which converts the challenges into opportunities and harvests energy from the sun and the outer space for optional localized heating and cooling. Compared to conventional heating/cooling textiles like black/white cotton, its heating/cooling mode enables a skin simulator temperature increase/decrease of 11.3 ℃/14.5 ℃ respectively under sunlight exposure. Meanwhile, the temperature gradient created between the textile and skin simulator allows a continuous electricity generation with thermoelectric modules. Owing to the exceptional outdoor thermoregulation ability, this Janus textile is promising to help maintain a comfortable microclimate for individuals in outdoor environment and provide a platform for pervasive power generation.