Reversible photochromic nanofibrous membranes with excellent water/windproof and breathable performance

Electrospun nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) with outstanding photochromic property, waterproof, and breathability have attracted considerable interest owing to their multifunctional applications in intelligent clothing, self-cleaning, and protection. However, great challenges still remain in creating such functional materials. A novel waterproof–breathable membrane with robust photochromic property is fabricated by introducing photochromic microcapsule (PM) into electrospun thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) membranes. Compared with the pristine TPU NFMs, the composite TPU/PM membranes are endowed with reversible photochromic properties. In addition, the composite membranes not only exhibited a water contact angle of 137° and a milk contact angle of 130°, but also had integrated properties of modest water vapor transmittance rate of 19,278 g m −2 day −1 , high air permeability of 962 mm s −1 , low waterproofness of 2.813 kPa, and comparable tensile strength of 12.08 MPa. Furthermore, the convenience and efficiency of this fabrication process will allow for large-scale production of the multifunctional NFMs. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46342.