Development of a wearable infrared shield based on a polyurethane–antimony tin oxide composite fiber

Abstract Here, we investigate a wearable-based IR and thermal stealth structure that effectively blocks IR and thermal radiation from a human body or device using a polyurethane–antimony tin oxide (PU–ATO) composite fiber. The aging time of the ATO sol prepared by a sol–gel method, and the concentration of ATO with respect to that of the PU matrix were optimized to prepare PU–ATO composite fibers that simultaneously have an appropriate mechanical strength (strength of ~4 MPa and strain of ~340%) and IR- and thermal radiation-shielding properties with ~98% IR light, as determined by Fourier transform IR spectroscopic studies. The fabricated PU–ATO composite fiber showed stable IR- and thermal radiation-shielding properties even when exposed to ten cycles of repeated temperature changes of −20 and +80 °C and long-term temperature changes for 30 days. In addition, the surface of the PU–ATO composite fiber was rendered hydrophobic to prevent the distortion of the IR and thermal radiation due to the wetting of the PU–ATO composite fiber with absorbed water. The PU–ATO composite fiber-based textile proposed herein can be applied in wearable IR- and thermal radiation-shielding technologies to shield IR signals generated by objects of diverse and complex shapes.