Researchers have recently reported a durable chalk-based coating that cools the air underneath treated fabric by up to 8 degrees Fahrenheit. Evan D. Patamia, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently presented his team’s results at a meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Contextually, ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.
The scientists have been developing textiles that simultaneously deflect the sun’s rays and push out natural body heat — a process known as radiative cooling. Some of those materials have light-refracting synthetic particles, such as titanium dioxide or aluminium oxide, embedded into spun fibers. Others use organic polymers, such as polyvinylidene difluoride, which require perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or forever chemicals, in their production processes to create light-reflective textiles.
But scaling the manufacturing of these materials for commercialization isn’t sustainable. So, inspired by the crushed limestone-based plasters used historically to keep houses cool in extremely sunny places, Patamia and Megan K. Yee worked on innovating a process to integrate calcium carbonate as well as bio-compatible barium sulfate onto the polymer applied by CVD.
