Recent Advances in Reversible Thermochromic Materials for Smart Textiles: A Review

TL;DR

This review summarizes recent advances in thermochromic materials for smart textiles, covering their properties, integration methods, applications, and challenges.

Contribution

A comprehensive review of four thermochromic material types and their textile integration techniques, along with practical applications and future directions.

Findings

Organic, liquid crystal, inorganic, and photonic crystal thermochromic materials show promise for smart textiles.

Microencapsulation, printing/dyeing, and fiber fabrication are key methods for integrating these materials into textiles.

Applications include anti-counterfeiting, temperature regulation, and aesthetic enhancement, though challenges like stability and durability remain.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Summarizes characteristics and recent advances of four types of reversible thermochromic materials: organic, liquid crystal, inorganic, and photonic crystal.Details textile integration technologies including microencapsulation, printing/dyeing, and fiber fabrication, with latest research progress.Analyzes applications of smart textiles in anti-counterfeiting, temperature regulation, and aesthetic enhancement.Addresses current challenges (stability, wash durability, color sensitivity) and proposes potential development directions.

Summarizes characteristics and recent advances of four types of reversible thermochromic materials: organic, liquid crystal, inorganic, and photonic crystal.

Details textile integration technologies including microencapsulation, printing/dyeing, and fiber fabrication, with latest research progress.

Analyzes applications of smart textiles in anti-counterfeiting, temperature regulation, and aesthetic enhancement.

Addresses current challenges (stability, wash durability, color sensitivity) and proposes potential development directions.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Provides a theoretical foundation and technical guidance for the design and development of reversible thermochromic smart textiles.Promotes deep integration of traditional textile craftsmanship (e.g., Kesi) with modern thermochromic technology.Facilitates the advancement of multifunctional, intelligent, and environment-adaptive smart textiles.Offers new perspectives for solving key technical bottlenecks in practical applications of thermochromic materials.

Provides a theoretical foundation and technical guidance for the design and development of reversible thermochromic smart textiles.

Promotes deep integration of traditional textile craftsmanship (e.g., Kesi) with modern thermochromic technology.

Facilitates the advancement of multifunctional, intelligent, and environment-adaptive smart textiles.

Offers new perspectives for solving key technical bottlenecks in practical applications of thermochromic materials.

Reversible thermochromic materials change color in response to temperature variations and hold significant potential in smart textiles. Their reversible color-changing property not only offers temperature indication and enhances textile performance but also promotes smart textile development. This is achieved by improving the intelligence, multifunctionality, and environmental adaptability of textiles. This review summarizes the characteristics and recent advancements of reversible thermochromic materials, including leuco dye-based organic systems and other organic, liquid crystal (LC), inorganic, and photonic crystal (PC) types. It emphasizes recent progress in integrating these materials into textiles through techniques such as microencapsulation, printing and dyeing, and fiber fabrication. Furthermore, this review systematically examines applications of reversible thermochromic materials in smart textiles, covering areas such as anti-counterfeiting, temperature-sensitive regulation, and aesthetic enhancement. Current challenges, including limited stability, inadequate wash durability, and low color sensitivity, are also addressed, alongside potential development directions. The aim of this review is to provide a theoretical foundation and technical guidance for designing and developing reversible thermochromic smart textiles.

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