Australia creates cooling fabric with nanodiamonds from waste

Australian scientists from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have developed a cooling fabric based on nanodiamonds, Azernews reports, citing the scientific journal Polymers for Advanced Technologies (PAT).

Nanodiamonds are usually artificial carbon crystals ranging in size from one to 10 nanometers. The specialists took as a basis a cotton cloth, which was coated with glue, and then treated with a polymer solution of nanodiamonds, polyurethane and solvent using electrostatics. This process created a network of nanofibers on textiles.

Experiments have shown that due to the high thermal conductivity of nanodiamonds, such a fabric passively cools the carrier by 2-3 °C. In addition, the coating enhances UV protection, which makes the material suitable for summer clothing.

Scientists expect that things made of high-tech textiles will reduce energy consumption by 20-30% during heat periods due to less active use of air conditioners.

Unlike natural diamonds, nanodiamonds are cheap to produce and are formed during the processing of carbon waste, the researchers added.

Earlier, engineers created an "electronic skin" that can be printed on a 3D printer.