Thermal management with innovative fibers and textiles: manipulating heat transport, storage and conversion

Thermal management is essential for maintaining optimal performance across various applications, including personal comfort, electronic systems and industrial processes. Thermal-management fibers and textiles have emerged as innovative solutions to manipulate heat transport, storage and conversion efficiently. This review explores recent advancements in material innovations in this field. We summarize the novel fibers and textiles designed for controlling heat transport through different pathways, progress in developing phase-change-material-based fibers and textiles for heat storage regulation, and application of photothermal conversion, Joule heating and thermoelectric effect as energy conversion routes in advanced fibers and textiles. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives of this field. It is believed that ongoing research and development promise to bring about innovative thermal-management solutions catering to demands across multiple sectors.