Colorful phase change material with intrinsic flexibility for personal thermal management

Personal thermal management (PTM) technology, which predominantly utilizes phase change materials (PCMs) has emerged as an effective strategy for mitigating thermal stress. However, how to impart intrinsic flexibility and vibrant colors to meet practical application needs remains a topic that requires further research and effort. In this thesis, a novel intrinsically flexible PCM with notable shape stability, vivid and eye-catching colors for PTM was synthesized. The flexible PCMs demonstrate a high phase change enthalpy (102.1 J/g), while maintaining thermal stability over 100 cycles. In addition, they can chemically bond with dye molecules, displaying vivid colors with extremely low dye usage (0.05 wt%). The integration of PCMs with fabrics using a hot press method produces a fabric that closely conforms to the human body and exhibits strong colorfastness, demonstrating significant potential for thermal management in specialized garments.