Abstract:

Significance Regulating the human skin micro-environment is crucial for maintaining thermal comfort, physiological stability, and health, particularly under extreme climates or during high-intensity activities. Traditional textiles, primarily designed for aesthetics and basic protection, offer limited and passive capacity to manage the dynamic heat and moisture exchange between the body and the environment. This often leads to thermal stress, moisture accumulation, discomfort, and even health risks such as heatstroke or skin disorders. Thermal-moisture management textiles (TMMTs), as emerging functional fabrics, represent an innovative solution by actively and intelligently modulating thermal and moisture transfer at the body-fabric interface through advanced material design and structural engineering. By offering passive, energy-free, or adaptive regulation, TMMTs hold great promise for enhancing personal thermophysiological comfort, providing health protection, and contributing to energy-efficient thermal management, potentially reducing reliance on energy-intensive environmental control systems. A comprehensive and critical understanding of their functional mechanisms, recent technical progress, and existing challenges is therefore essential to guide future research, development, and practical application of these advanced textiles.

Progress Current research on TMMTs primarily focuses on five key directions. 1. Thermal conduction regulation is achieved by incorporating high-conductivity fillers (e.g., graphene, boron nitride) to create heat dissipation pathways, or by constructing porous, hollow, or aerogel-based structures to trap insulating air. Dynamic tuning of thermal resistance is enabled by smart materials like shape-memory polymers or hygroscopic fibers that adapt their structure to environmental stimuli. 2. In radiative thermal regulation, material intrinsic properties are combined with micro/nano-structural design. Introducing pores or high-refractive-index particles (e.g., TiO₂, BaSO4) into fibers enhances solar reflectance via Mie scattering for cooling, alongside the development of infrared-transparent, broadband-emissive and spectrally selective fabrics. Conversely, radiative insulation is achieved using low-emissivity metal coatings or dopants (e.g., Ag nanowires, MXene). Dynamic radiative switching has been realized through dual-faced fabric designs or stimuli-responsive systems that alter emissivity based on temperature or moisture (e.g., sweat-triggered high emission). 3. In moisture management, the core strategy involves constructing directional liquid transport. Janus wettability structures and capillary-gradient channels are designed to enable unidirectional sweat transport. Integrating enhanced internal thermal conductivity (e.g., via BN networks) with this transport further facilitates efficient evaporative cooling. Moreover, temperature-responsive polymeric gates enable dynamic, adjustable moisture transport, opening in heat to promote cooling and closing in cold to preserve heat and block external moisture. 4. Phase change thermal regulation integrates phase change materials via microcapsules or fiber composites to buffer temperature near skin level, with improved dispersion and stability via advanced spinning and finishing techniques. 5. In energy conversion thermal regulation, photothermal, electrothermal, or thermoelectric modules are embedded in fabrics to achieve temperature control or energy harvesting. For example, solar-driven photothermal textiles can raise surface temperatures by more than 10 ℃, and thermoelectric textiles can generate power outputs up to 0.2 mW/cm² under sunlight, thereby enabling simultaneous energy harvesting, conversion, and body temperature modulation.

Conclusion and Prospect Prallel to progress made in thermal-moisture management textiles, challenges persist in balancing performance with wearability, overcoming single-function limitations, ensuring long-term durability, and establishing standardized evaluations. Future development should focus on: 1. Integration of multiple heat/moisture transfer pathways (e.g., conduction, radiation, evaporation) through hierarchical material and structural design for synergistic effects; 2. Scenario-specific optimization for fields like healthcare, sports, and extreme climates, incorporating sensing and localized regulation; 3. Advanced evaluation systems utilizing thermal manikins, environmental chambers, and long-term wear trials to bridge lab and real-world performance; 4. Intelligentization with responsive materials and flexible electronics for adaptive, closed-loop regulation; 5. Sustainable development via bio-based/degradable materials and scalable, low-energy manufacturing. Through continued innovation in materials, structures, and smart technologies, next-generation textiles will offer enhanced comfort and broader applications in personal health, protection, and smart living.

Key words: thermal-moisture management textile, thermal comfort, thermal conduction regulation, radiative regulation, moisture management, phase change thermal regulation, energy conversion