Researchers develop purple cooling fabric that outperforms white cotton

Researchers from Zhengzhou University and the University of Adelaide have developed a new purple cooling fabric that outperforms traditional white cotton in heat management. While light colors like white are typically used for cooling due to high solar reflectance, darker colors usually absorb more energy. This new material utilizes a combination of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles to achieve both a purple appearance and high thermal efficiency.

The fabric reflects 87.6% of solar radiation and emits 96.4% of mid-infrared radiation, allowing heat to escape effectively. In outdoor testing under direct sunlight, the fabric's surface temperature was 4.2°C cooler than white cotton and 6.2°C cooler than conventional purple cotton. Tests indicated that wearing the material could reduce perceived skin temperature by 8°C. The fabric also demonstrated durability, maintaining its cooling and UV-resistant properties after 50 wash cycles and 108 days of intense UV exposure.