Preparation of a wearable K-PAN@CuS composite fabric with excellent photothermal/electrothermal properties

Electrospun nanofibers with highly efficient photothermal/electrothermal performance are extremely popular because of their great potential in wearable heaters. However, the lack of necessary wearable properties such as high mechanical strength and quick response of electrospun micro/nanofibers seriously affects their practical application. In this work, a technical route combining electrospinning and surface modification technology is proposed. The 3-triethoxysilylpropylamine-polyacrylonitrile@ copper sulfide (K-PAN@CuS) composite fabric was achieved by modifying the original electrospinning PAN fiber and subsequently loading CuS nanoparticles. The results show that the break strength of the K-PAN@CuS fabric was increased by 10 times compared to that of the original PAN@CuS fabric. Furthermore, the saturated temperature of the K-PAN@CuS fabric heater could reach 116 °C within 15 s at a relatively low voltage of 3 V and 120.3 °C within 10 s under an infrared therapy lamp (100 W). In addition, due to its excellent conductivity, such a unique structural design enables the fiber to be closely attached to the human skin and helps to monitor human movements. This K-PAN@CuS fabric shows great potential in wearable heaters, hyperthermia, all-weather thermal management, and in vitro physical therapy.