Corncoblike, Superhydrophobic, and Phase-Changeable Nanofibers for Intelligent Thermoregulating and Water-Repellent Fabrics

The comfort and protection of clothes are critically important for human well-being in life; however, constructing multifunctional fabrics with excellent thermoregulating and water-repellent performance still presents an exciting scientific challenge and a significant technological advancement. Therefore, we report a novel and straightforward methodology to fabricate corncoblike and phase-changeable nanofibers by incorporating n-octadecane phase change capsules (PCCs) for creating water-repellent and thermoregulating nanofibrous membranes. This strategy causes PCC to be uniformly distributed on the nanofibers to form a unique corncoblike structure, preventing the abscission of PCC and the leakage of the phase change ingredient (n-octadecane). Besides, the resultant nanofibrous membranes are endowed with hierarchical roughness, small pore size, and energy storage/release capacity in response to environmental changes. As a consequence, the nanofibrous membranes present prominent water repellence with superhydrophobicity (a water contact angle of 153°) and a high hydrostatic pressure of 84 kPa, robust mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 9.2 MPa, as well as excellent hybrid active-passive thermal regulation with a water vapor transmittance rate of 11.4 kg m-2 d-1 and a high phase change enthalpy of 74 J g-1 after 50 heating/cooling cycles, indicating them to be an exceptional candidate for personal protection and thermal management.