Scalable Production of Leaf‐Stomata‐Inspired Moisture‐Responsive Knitted Fabric for Personal Thermal and Moisture Management

ABSTRACT Thermal and moisture management of fabrics is critical for maintaining human comfort during physical activities and across variable climates. Inspired by leaf stomata, we developed a leaf stomata‐like fabric (LSF) that leveraged spatial asymmetry in swelling coefficients to open artificial stomata within 5 s after exposure to moisture. The air permeability of LSF under wet conditions surged by nearly 100% compared to its dry conditions. And the LSF outperformed the reported flap structure fabric (FSF) and conventional fabric (CF) by 70% and 360%, respectively. In terms of thermal regulation, the maximum heat flux ( Q max ) of the LSF was reduced by 40% and 50% compared to the FSF and CF, effectively alleviating post‐sweating chill. The unique structure decreased wet fabric‐ body skin adhesion by 16% and 70% compared to FSF and CF, respectively, due to stomatal areas bulging, while maintaining tactile comfort. The LSF demonstrated stable, reversible pore actuation and rapid moisture responsiveness after 100 washing cycles. Wear trials confirmed a 0.96°C reduction in microclimate temperature, enabling at least 1°C increase in indoor air‐conditioning temperature setpoints without weakening human comfort, thereby reducing building cooling consumption. Due to high performance with scalable manufacturing, LSF offers a commercial pathway for next‐generation responsive textiles.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Energy Materials
Published
2026-04-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.71020
Primary Topic
Advanced Materials and Mechanics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Scalable Production of Leaf‐Stomata‐Inspired Moisture‐Responsive Knitted Fabric for Personal Thermal and Moisture Management

Xinke Xiao, Yueyun Yu, Yunrui Shi, Jintu Fan et al.
Advanced Energy Materials
Advanced Materials and Mechanics
article

Scalable Production of Leaf‐Stomata‐Inspired Moisture‐Responsive Knitted Fabric for Personal Thermal and Moisture Management

Xinke Xiao, Yueyun Yu, Yunrui Shi, Jintu Fan, Rong Zheng, Dahua Shou, Qing Chen
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Thermal and moisture management of fabrics is critical for maintaining human comfort during physical activities and across variable climates. Inspired by leaf stomata, we developed a leaf stomata‐like fabric (LSF) that leveraged spatial asymmetry in swelling coefficients to open artificial stomata within 5 s after exposure to moisture. The air permeability of LSF under wet conditions surged by nearly 100% compared to its dry conditions. And the LSF outperformed the reported flap structure fabric (FSF) and conventional fabric (CF) by 70% and 360%, respectively. In terms of thermal regulation, the maximum heat flux ( Q max ) of the LSF was reduced by 40% and 50% compared to the FSF and CF, effectively alleviating post‐sweating chill. The unique structure decreased wet fabric‐ body skin adhesion by 16% and 70% compared to FSF and CF, respectively, due to stomatal areas bulging, while maintaining tactile comfort. The LSF demonstrated stable, reversible pore actuation and rapid moisture responsiveness after 100 washing cycles. Wear trials confirmed a 0.96°C reduction in microclimate temperature, enabling at least 1°C increase in indoor air‐conditioning temperature setpoints without weakening human comfort, thereby reducing building cooling consumption. Due to high performance with scalable manufacturing, LSF offers a commercial pathway for next‐generation responsive textiles.

Advanced Energy Materials
Shanghai International Studies University (CN), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), Donghua University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Advanced Materials and Mechanics
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