Bioinspired green fabricating design of ultra-breathable and moisture wicking fabric via a sustainable route

Abstract

Functional textiles with breathability, thermal conductivity and moisture wicking performance are critical to achieving human comfort and reducing energy consumption. However, conventional finishing processes used for fabricating moisture wicking fabrics are usually highly polluting and exhibit poor durability as well as low recyclability, which may be detrimental to environmental sustainability. Inspired by the shorebird's beak with a conical-shaped liquid pathway for transporting liquid drops, a novel biomimetic porous fabric is proposed by using natural cotton fibers through industrial and eco-friendly knitting technology, featuring ultra-breathability, thermal conductivity and moisture wicking properties. Moreover, the effects of the pore size and arrangement on the thermal conductivity and air resistance are investigated. Obvious linearities can be obtained (R2 = 0.99). In addition, the synergistic effects of basic pore and biomimetic pore can create surface energy gradients, which result in the asymmetric pressure and water transport. As a result, when the biomimetic pore distances are 3 mm and 5 mm, respectively, high linearities of 0.99 between biomimetic pore diameter and the wicking height can be found. More importantly, the resultant biomimetic pore fabric exhibits good water absorption rate of 350%, an outstanding water vapor transmission (>10000 g/m2/24 h) and high recyclability. The green fabricating design of biomimetic porous fabric opens up a pathway to develop air, thermal, moisture regulating fabric through a sustainable route for more diverse applications, e.g., athletic apparel, industrial workwear and medical garments.