Nanofibrous films embedded with phase change material: Flexible and photo-responsive dressings for thermal compress therapy

The medical dressings with temperature regulating function can promote wound recovery and cure chronic diseases. To address the outdoor heat source of thermal compress film, Kevlar nanofibrous film (AKD) containing n-Docosane (DE) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) with active photo-thermal conversion and thermal energy storage properties was developed. The results shown that DE and AgNWs were wrapped in Kevlar nanosheets through entanglement and extensive hydrogen-bonding interaction, and AKD film presented the layered structure. Due to the formation of non-melting layer, the melting latent heat of AKD film containing 58 wt% of DE without leakage is 105.1 J·g−1. The as-prepared film also presents enviable photothermal conversion efficiency of 88.5 %, impressive tensile strength of 26.15 MPa and high flexibility even at temperatures below the melting point of DE. Moreover, the pilot-scale film with the thickness of 1.54 mm can rapidly rise to 50 °C in 402 s and maintain the temperature from 50 °C to 37 °C for about 18 min. The excellent heat storage capacity, impressive mechanical and flexible properties, rapid photo-thermal response and stable heat release performance make it promising to be used as thermal compress therapy.