Textiles "remember" clothing become "smarter"

Add nickel-titanium alloy shape memory fibers to "huge" wedding dresses or performance clothes, and after folding, just blow it with a hair dryer to restore the original shape; smart sportswear and mountaineering clothes made of new polyurethane materials can be used in Heat dissipation and water vapor channels are created when the ambient temperature is high; with the application of "artificial muscle" fibers, there may be more "smart" clothing with shape memory in the future

Researchers have used extrusion molding to create a shape-memory material that can return to its original shape after deformation

In recent years, shape memory materials and textiles have also collided with "sparks" full of technology, making clothing more memorable and "smarter"

Smart materials that make textiles "memory"

In the 1980s, a new type of shape memory material with a wide range of applications, shape memory polymer, was developed

At present, the shape memory polymer used in the field of textile and clothing is mainly a polymer compound such as polyurethane.

In addition, with the development and progress of science and technology, in recent years, some scientists have used "artificial muscle" technology to realize the "memory" function of textiles

According to Liu Zunfeng, who prepared the silk "artificial muscle", the "artificial muscle" is not an artificial biological muscle as the public imagines, but a kind of artificial muscle after being subjected to external stimuli such as temperature, humidity, electric current, pressure and light.

Shape memory materials make clothing more functional

At present, shape memory alloys are the most widely used shape memory materials in clothing

With the continuous advancement of technology, nickel-titanium alloy shape memory fibers are increasingly used in textiles and garments

However, due to the inclusion of alloy fibers, the clothes will inevitably have some metal-specific gray tones, which is undoubtedly a hindrance for the clothing industry that requires rich colors and textures of fabrics

New polyurethane materials with shape memory function can solve these problems well.

There may be more "smart" garments with shape memory in the future