An advanced multifunctional leather derived from discarded leather scraps toward personal thermal management and health protection

Abstract

Advanced wearable devices based on natural substrates are highly suitable for various applications, including personal thermal management, infrared stealth, and electromagnetic interference shielding. However, the sophisticated manufacturing techniques, poor scalability and limited substrate sources restricts their further application. Herein, an advanced multifunctional wearable leather derived from discarded leather scraps with scalable fabrication is proposed, achieving by brushing silver paste on the leather grain surface. The silver paste on grain side of the leather possesses high conductivity and low mid-infrared emissivity, which endows the obtained leather with superb active electric heating, electromagnetic interference shielding, and infrared stealth. The multifunctional leather can reach an outstanding electric heating temperature of ∼112°C at a low applied voltage of 0.9 V, and it shows a mid-infrared emissivity as low as ∼30%, ensuring excellent infrared stealth performance. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of the multifunctional leather is ∼45 dB. The multifunctional leather also has satisfactory scalability, durability and wearability. This work paves a new avenue for the high-value utilization of waste leather and personal health management, contributing to the mitigation of climate change and the alleviation of resource crises.