Green Diatom-Inspired Bilayer Silk Fibroin Microcapsules Fabricated via Reverse Micelle-Assisted Solvent Evaporation and Laccase-Enhanced In Situ Deposition for Sustainable Personal Thermal-Moisture Management Textile

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Authors: Zirong Li, Lian Wu, Gang Jiang, Bo Xu, Ying Liu, Qiang Wang, Ping Wang
Cited by: 4
References: 48

Abstract

When combined with phase-change energy storage, radiative cooling enables durable personal thermal management by blocking external heat and promoting heat dissipation. However, conventional passive cooling textiles rely on nondegradable polymers and exhibit insufficient encapsulation stability of phase-change materials. Here, we present a diatom-inspired bilayer silk fibroin/SiO 2 phase-change microcapsule (CRSFPCM@SiO 2 ), fabricated via reverse micelle-assisted solvent evaporation and laccase-enhanced templated silica deposition. Laccase-catalyzed grafting of chitosan oligosaccharides promotes in situ silica deposition and confers antibacterial properties. The bilayer design of a soft organic inner shell with a rigid inorganic outer shell ensures chemical stability, sufficient light scattering, and reliable core encapsulation. Furthermore, a hierarchically structured textile (MetaSilk) was fabricated through solvent exchange-assisted electrospinning and hydrophobic spray coating. MetaSilk exhibited angle-independent high solar reflectivity (98.68%), IR emissivity (96.85%), and stable melting enthalpy (80.75 J·g –1 ) after 50 thermal cycles, making it highly suitable for passive cooling applications. Its hierarchical pores and asymmetric wettability facilitate efficient unidirectional water transport (1211.9%) and evaporation (110.04 g·m –2 ·h –1 ). The integration of these functionalities results in an outdoor temperature reduction of 16.9 °C and a cooling power of 96.2 W·m –2 . This bioinspired and sustainable strategy paves new avenues for durable encapsulation systems in advanced thermal-moisture management.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity Hydrogels: synthesis properties applications

Publication details

Journal / source
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Volume
14
Issue
13
Pages
6571–6587
Publication date
10 March 2026
Language
EN