MXene/Ag-decorated 3D spacer fabric with multi-modal warmth for all-day personal thermal management

To address the challenges of personal thermoregulation, this study proposes a multi-modal thermal management strategy based on a three-dimensional (3D) spacer Janus fabric (F-M/A-JF) asymmetrically decorated with MXene and silver. By leveraging the 3D structure's static air-trapping and MXene's low mid-infrared emissivity (0.419), the system achieves a 5.6 °C increase in simulated skin temperature indoors without energy consumption. Under simulated sunlight (100 mW cm −2 ), the Janus design exhibits a differential response—reaching 79.8 °C on the MXene side versus 62.9 °C on the Ag side—providing an “adaptive mode” to prevent outdoor overheating. Owing to the high electrical conductivity of MXene, the fabric achieves a surface temperature of 137.3 °C at a low voltage of only 5 V and demonstrates a high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness of up to 57 dB. The “MXene Guardian” strategy ensures functional longevity over 20 washing cycles and 95.3% self-cleaning efficiency while preserving 93.8% of the original moisture permeability (5.14 mg cm −2  h −1 ). This robust system offers an energy-saving design paradigm for next-generation smart textiles in dynamic environments.