Stretchable h‐BN/TPU Fibers for Passive‐Active Dual‐Mode Thermal Management and Wearable Haptic Interfaces

ABSTRACT Wearable thermal interfaces require rapid, spatially confined thermal feedback together with mechanical compliance, yet existing passive thermal‐management textiles and active thermal‐haptic devices remain largely separate. Here, a stretchable h ‐BN/TPU composite fiber is developed by coupling microfluidic spinning with non‐solvent‐induced phase separation. Rectangular‐channel confinement aligns hexagonal boron nitride plates within a microporous thermoplastic polyurethane matrix, constructing directional heat‐conduction pathways while preserving large deformation. The optimized 30 wt.% h ‐BN/TPU fiber achieves a dry‐state thermal conductivity of 2.08 and 4.14 W·m −1 ·K −1 under humid conditions, together with 9.67 MPa tensile strength and 422% elongation at break. Pareto‐front analysis identifies the 30 wt.% composition as the thermal‐mechanical knee, arising from the coupled effects of filler orientation, low void fraction, and deformable TPU domains. Woven h ‐BN/TPU fabrics provide passive thermal management, reducing surface temperature by 5.7°C under simulated solar irradiation and maintaining performance after 2000 bending cycles. When integrated into a thermal feedback glove, the fabric enables localized fingertip actuation with a heating rate of +29.55°C·s −1 and a thermal relaxation time of ∼20 s (returning below the warm perception threshold of 35°C). This fiber platform bridges passive heat regulation and active thermal haptics for next‐generation thermally interactive wearables.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Science
Published
2026-10-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.78162
Primary Topic
Thermal properties of materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Stretchable h‐BN/TPU Fibers for Passive‐Active Dual‐Mode Thermal Management and Wearable Haptic Interfaces

Kean How Cheah, Shanshan Long, Cheng‐Te Lin, Linhong Li et al.
Advanced Science
Thermal properties of materials
article

Stretchable h‐BN/TPU Fibers for Passive‐Active Dual‐Mode Thermal Management and Wearable Haptic Interfaces

Kean How Cheah, Shanshan Long, Cheng‐Te Lin, Linhong Li, Nan Jiang, Jinhong Yu, Yue Qin, Bo Chen, Rongjie Yang, Yixiang Xu, Hanxi Chen, Yiwei Zhou, Maohua Li
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wearable thermal interfaces require rapid, spatially confined thermal feedback together with mechanical compliance, yet existing passive thermal‐management textiles and active thermal‐haptic devices remain largely separate. Here, a stretchable h ‐BN/TPU composite fiber is developed by coupling microfluidic spinning with non‐solvent‐induced phase separation. Rectangular‐channel confinement aligns hexagonal boron nitride plates within a microporous thermoplastic polyurethane matrix, constructing directional heat‐conduction pathways while preserving large deformation. The optimized 30 wt.% h ‐BN/TPU fiber achieves a dry‐state thermal conductivity of 2.08 and 4.14 W·m −1 ·K −1 under humid conditions, together with 9.67 MPa tensile strength and 422% elongation at break. Pareto‐front analysis identifies the 30 wt.% composition as the thermal‐mechanical knee, arising from the coupled effects of filler orientation, low void fraction, and deformable TPU domains. Woven h ‐BN/TPU fabrics provide passive thermal management, reducing surface temperature by 5.7°C under simulated solar irradiation and maintaining performance after 2000 bending cycles. When integrated into a thermal feedback glove, the fabric enables localized fingertip actuation with a heating rate of +29.55°C·s −1 and a thermal relaxation time of ∼20 s (returning below the warm perception threshold of 35°C). This fiber platform bridges passive heat regulation and active thermal haptics for next‐generation thermally interactive wearables.

Advanced Science
University of Nottingham Ningbo China (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology (CN), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Marine Materials (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo, 3315 Innovation Team in Ningbo City, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province
Openalex Percentile: Top 28%
Thermal properties of materials
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