A moisture-responsive functional fabric was developed to, employing a dual-layer structure of hydrophilic polyurethane (PU) and hydrophobic polyester to accelerate heat dissipation and improve human thermal comfort. The fabric was treated with a complex finishing agent, comprising PU, adhesive, ethyl cellulose, and polyoxyethylene ether to achieve a rapid response and high wash durability. When wetted, the fabric showed a flap opening time of 8.0 s and an opening angle of 102.2°, while maintaining higher air permeability (3450.93 mm/s) and improved moisture vapor transmission rate (320.26 g⋅m -2 ⋅h -1 ). SEM analysis revealed strong interfacial bonding between the finishing agent and the original fiber. In a humid and hot environment simulated within a walk-in climate chamber, wear trials demonstrated the functional garment’s efficacy in enhancing thermal regulation, specifically reducing core temperature, skin temperature and heart rate by 0.67 °C, 0.68 °C and 11.4 bpm, respectively.
Yang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.