Development of a wearable infrared shield based on a polyurethane\u2013antimony tin oxide composite fiber

Sang-Mi Jeong,Heesoo Kim,Gwang Hwi Choi,Yong Kyu Choi,Sanghyun Ju,Taekuk Hong,Bo Wha Lee,Jihun Ahn,Keumyoung Seo,Taekyung Lim,Sang Yoon Park

doi:10.1038/s41427-020-0213-z

Sang-Mi Jeong, Heesoo Kim + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41427-020-0213-z

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Abstract

Here, we investigate a wearable-based IR and thermal stealth structure that effectively blocks IR and thermal radiation from a human body or device using a polyurethane–antimony tin oxide (PU–ATO) composite fiber. The aging time of the ATO sol prepared by a sol–gel method, and the concentration of ATO with respect to that of the PU matrix were optimized to prepare PU–ATO composite fibers that simultaneously have an appropriate mechanical strength (strength of ~4 MPa and strain of ~340%) and IR- and thermal radiation-shielding properties with ~98% IR light, as determined by Fourier transform IR spectroscopic studies. The fabricated PU–ATO composite fiber showed stable IR- and thermal radiation-shielding properties even when exposed to ten cycles of repeated temperature changes of −20 and +80 °C and long-term temperature changes for 30 days. In addition, the surface of the PU–ATO composite fiber was rendered hydrophobic to prevent the distortion of the IR and thermal radiation due to the wetting of the PU–ATO composite fiber with absorbed water. The PU–ATO composite fiber-based textile proposed herein can be applied in wearable IR- and thermal radiation-shielding technologies to shield IR signals generated by objects of diverse and complex shapes.

Highlights

Stealth technology refers to a technology that renders objects unidentifiable by reducing or distorting the objects’ external signals used to identify objects[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
antimony tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles are synthesized by a variety of techniques, such as hydrothermal, coprecipitation, combustion, sol–gel, and direct current arc plasma jet methods, and in general, the nanoparticles are mixed with a binder to form films that can be used for IR and thermal radiation shielding[22,23,24]
When a part of the human body is concealed with polyurethane–antimony tin oxide (PU–ATO) composite fiberbased clothing with IR- and thermal radiation-shielding properties, the IR and thermal radiation emitted from the human body is shielded, and the person merges with the background; the IR camera cannot recognize the person

Summary

Introduction

Stealth technology refers to a technology that renders objects unidentifiable by reducing or distorting the objects’ external signals (radar, IR, acoustic, and visual signals) used to identify objects[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. The PU–ATO (3) composite fibers used to make the IR- and thermal radiation-shielding textiles were fabricated under optimal conditions, as determined by the assessment of their mechanical, chemical, and optical properties.

Results

Conclusion