Spontaneous self-draining droplet transport system on textile for moisture and thermal management

Background: This research proposes a textile modification technique to enable active and fast drop transport for the needs of sufficient sweat collection on human body. Methods: Active transporting pores on the textile surface with wettability gradient are prepared by spray coating certain amounts of water-repellent agents on the textile. Then, a hydrophilic polymer is sprayed on the external cloth surface to form wedge-shaped tracks based on surface energy balance. The tracks connect every diode pore to facilitate the drainage of moisture from pores and merge dispersed droplets into larger droplets on the main channel. At the end of the main channel, a drip tip, inspired by rainforest plants, is designed to deposit droplets on the clothes surface with minimum dripping size (10μL) and low water retention. Significant Findings: The designed patterns are manufactured on a 100 cm2 textile and adhered to a volunteer's back. After 30 min of exercise, more than 3 mL of sweat could be collected, which surpasses other passive collecting methods. Finally, several examples were given to demonstrate the rapid sweat removing ability and excellent thermal management performance of this functional textile for sportswear applications.