From a meteorological point of view, the beginning of 2024 was marked by the famous “Moscow-Paris”. This is a cold wave that originates in Siberia and is driven by winds to southwestern Europe. This phenomenon has led to a drop in temperature in many major cities on the Old Continent.
Given this extreme cold, it goes without saying that it is appropriate to wear warm clothing. And in a few years, there could be a new accessory in wardrobes: a down jacket inspired by bear hair… or, more precisely, an airgel modeled on ursid fur.
An airgel is a gel-like material in which the liquid (hydro) component is replaced by gas (hence the term aero). It represents an excellent solid heat insulator. However, due to its fragility and poor suitability for mechanical processing, its use in flexible textile fibers is very limited, if not impossible. “When exposed to strong pressure, the airgel shatters like glass. Not only do these fibers lack the strength and stretch required to be woven or knitted into practical textiles, but they are also not machine washable and quickly lose their thermal insulating ability in wet or humid environments. humid,” explain researchers from Zhejiang University, is located on the east coast of China.
Thermal properties comparable to those of a down jacket
In early December 2023, they published an article in the journal “Science” in which they proposed the development of a new textile based on airgel, but inspired by bear hair. “The latter consist of a porous, hollow core that effectively traps air and provides excellent thermal insulation performance,” these researchers explain.
The heat (radiation) emitted by the skin is retained by the encapsulation in the hair. In this capsule, convection and conduction movements of the heat released ensure its preservation.
Mingrui Wu et al
However, this core itself is surrounded by a dense shell structure, which also provides effective mechanical protection in terms of tensile strength and deformation. “Imitation of polar bear hair strategies represents a viable opportunity to develop robust thermal insulation materials, particularly fibers and textiles,” they continue.
Mimicking this core-shell structure of polar bear hair, the scientists used a cold-spinning approach to create a strong airgel fiber, which they then covered with a thin layer of stretchy polyurethane. By enclosing a porous material in a shell, they mimicked the bear!
The resulting encapsulated airgel fiber (EAF) achieves excellent thermal insulation performance while being mechanically robust, making it suitable for knitting or weaving. With a thickness five times smaller, its thermal properties are comparable to those of a down jacket.
They are considered the best thermal insulation material due to their high porosity and extremely low thermal conductivity. Since their invention in the 1930s by an American physicist, aerogels have been used in a variety of technical areas, such as green buildings, energy storage devices, catalyst supports and environmental processing. Because the liquid is replaced by gas in an airgel, it is a porous, low-density solid that consists of 99.8% air. This makes it one of the lightest solids available. In addition, it is almost completely transparent and has a tactile feel similar to Styrofoam.
They are considered the best thermal insulation material due to their high porosity and extremely low thermal conductivity. Since their invention in the 1930s by an American physicist, aerogels have been used in a variety of technical areas, such as green buildings, energy storage devices, catalyst supports and environmental processing. Because the liquid is replaced by gas in an airgel, it is a porous, low-density solid that consists of 99.8% air. This makes it one of the lightest solids available. In addition, it is almost completely transparent and has a tactile feel similar to Styrofoam.
They are considered the best thermal insulation material due to their high porosity and extremely low thermal conductivity. Since their invention in the 1930s by an American physicist, aerogels have been used in a variety of technical areas, such as green buildings, energy storage devices, catalyst supports and environmental processing. Because the liquid is replaced by gas in an airgel, it is a porous, low-density solid that consists of 99.8% air. This makes it one of the lightest solids available. In addition, it is almost completely transparent and has a tactile feel similar to Styrofoam.
But even if the researchers highlight an interesting innovation for extreme scientific applications such as expeditions to the poles or spacesuits, their project seems to want to reach a more promising market… “These EAF textiles in particular offer great potential in the field military. “But beyond this proof-of-concept work, our research reveals another strategy for the biomimetic design of multifunctional fibers and textiles required for various new applications such as wearable consumer electronics,” the authors conclude.
The way they end the article suggests that the scientists hope for rapid commercialization of their product. They seem to want to sell the bear's fur without having killed it… Since Shanghai is only 200 km from Zhejiang, where their home university is located, this polar bear bio-inspired fleece should quickly appear on the global market. to the delight of consumers around the world.
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