A team of engineers and chemists from Nanjing University in China has created a metafabric that can thermoregulate body temperature depending on external conditions. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Science.
The new material is based on a flexible organic photovoltaic module with heating elements embedded in a special microfiber. While the fiber cools the user by accelerating heat dissipation, the module can heat the clothes through the electrocaloric effect using solar energy.
Experiments have shown that the metafabricated suit can maintain a constant temperature between 32°C and 36°C when the ambient temperature varies between 12.5°C and 37.6°C.
According to the authors of the innovation, their material will create more comfortable and versatile clothing than previous developments that tried to solve the problem of temperature regulation by adding heating or cooling elements. So far most of these products have proven too bulky for widespread use.
Previously in China was created Technology for extracting uranium from seawater using special fabric.