Human body-interfacing material strategies for personal thermal and moisture management of wearable systems

Abstract

Personal thermal and moisture management for wearable systems and strategies are drawing increasing attention due to their potential on human thermal comfort and safety and energy saving, especially in the era of climate change and energy shortage. Various studies have been conducted on personal thermal and moisture management via wearable systems and strategies. Wearable systems for personal thermal and moisture regulation, aiming at the improvement of human comfort and safety and energy saving, are being under a new round of development with novel materials. Wearable systems for personal thermal and moisture conversion are emerging as energy strategies for energy regeneration, along with the wide development of wearable electronics. Although these wearable systems and strategies have usually been investigated as separate topics thus far, they are closely related with each other since they significantly interact with body heat and moisture and impact the thermal safety of “human body-wearable systems”. Meanwhile, limitations exist in the evaluation approaches for personal thermal and moisture management of these emerging wearable systems. In this review, recent progress of material strategies and performance for personal thermal and moisture management of wearable systems, and the performance evaluation approaches, are discussed to provide a fundamental and comprehensive perspective for the personal thermal and moisture management of wearable systems. Future research directions for personal thermal and moisture management of wearable systems are proposed with the aim to improve the global human health and safety in the context of climate extremes and energy shortage.