Tellurium-Based Hybrid Structure for Thermal Management Applications.

Personal thermal management (PTM) textiles have been increasingly explored for automotive applications to regulate vehicle surface temperature by reducing ice formation in cold environments without external energy. Developing adaptable PTM fabrics offers a promising strategy for efficient passive thermal management of vehicles in severe cold conditions. In this study, we designed a hybrid photothermal system of Tellurium nanoparticles (Te NPs) incorporated into bioderived carbon nanosheets. The composite exhibits excellent photothermal conversion efficiency (PTCE), calculated to be ∼63% within 2 min under NIR irradiation. Furthermore, the hybrid system-coated cotton fabric exhibited enhanced heating performance, reaching ∼42 °C under visible light in 3 min and ∼74 °C under NIR irradiation in 2 min in a cold environment. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation reveals the role of Te nanostructures in the hybrid system for improved light-to-heat conversion. Therefore, the current hybrid PTM system demonstrates potential in regulating temperature for outdoor applications in colder regions.