Experimental investigation of thermal regulation of thermal regulation feature in cotton/ bamboo blended supreme fabrics

Along with the advancing technology of our era, the perception of comfort in people is rapidly evolving and gaining greater importance day by day. People's expectations from textile products are increasing, leading researchers and manufacturing companies to engage in R&D studies on functional clothing. Recent developments in materials and biological science, along with nanotechnology and smart systems, have breathed new life into the textile industry, and the concept of functional textiles has gained increasing importance worldwide. To achieve this, materials that can respond to environmental effects such as conductive materials, flame retardants, chromic materials, and phase-change materials (PCMs) have started to be used in functional clothing. One of the innovative areas where research is intensively ongoing is the development of smart textile products with thermal storage and regulation properties. These textile products are produced by applying phase-change materials to textile fibers or fabrics. Textiles containing phase-change materials are used to enhance thermal comfort in clothing and to produce products with heating and cooling properties. These textiles, which incorporate phase-change materials, have found applications in various fields, from color-changing fashion and design products to home textiles, military applications, and cold-weather clothing. In this study, three different phase-change materials commonly used in the market were applied to knitted surfaces, which offer a higher level of comfort to individuals in daily use compared to woven fabrics. The heat storage capacities of the respective phase-change materials were measured using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), their distribution on the fabric surface was observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and their chemical structures were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Cotton, bamboo, and various blends of these materials were preferred as raw materials in this study due to their lack of harmfull chemical content compared to synthetic fibers, their antibacterial properties, and their non-allergenic effects on the body. These raw materials, with their comfort features, were processed into yarns using the ring spinning system, which is the most preferred spinning technology in the world. The measurement results of the fabrics with applied phase-change materials were evaluated, and the findings were shared.