Issue

Vol. 18 (2026)

Superelastic and Washable Micro/Nanofibrous Sponges Based on Biomimetic Helical Fibers for Efficient Thermal Insulation

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01882-2
Fengjin Yang
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Zhifei Wang
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Wei Zhang
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Sai Wang
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Yi‑Tao Liu
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Fei Wang
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Roman A. Surmenev
Physical Materials Science and Composite Materials Center, Research School of Chemistry & Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia 634050
Jianyong Yu
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Shichao Zhang
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China
Bin Ding
Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Fei Wang

feiwang@dhu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 42

Abstract

Extreme cold weather seriously harms human thermoregulatory system, necessitating high-performance insulating garments to maintain body temperature. However, as the core insulating layer, advanced fibrous materials always struggle to balance mechanical properties and thermal insulation, resulting in their inability to meet the demands for both washing resistance and personal protection. Herein, inspired by the natural spring-like structures of cucumber tendrils, a superelastic and washable micro/nanofibrous sponge (MNFS) based on biomimetic helical fibers is directly prepared utilizing multiple-jet electrospinning technology for high-performance thermal insulation. By regulating the conductivity of polyvinylidene fluoride solution, multiple-jet ejection and multiple-stage whipping of jets are achieved, and further control of phase separation rates enables the rapid solidification of jets to form spring-like helical fibers, which are directly entangled to assemble MNFS. The resulting MNFS exhibits superelasticity that can withstand large tensile strain (200%), 1000 cyclic tensile or compression deformations, and retain good resilience even in liquid nitrogen (− 196 °C). Furthermore, the MNFS shows efficient thermal insulation with low thermal conductivity (24.85 mW m−1 K−1), close to the value of dry air, and remains structural stability even after cyclic washing. This work offers new possibilities for advanced fibrous sponges in transportation, environmental, and energy applications.


Highlights:
1 A superelastic and washable sponge based on biomimetic spring-like helical micro/nanofibers is directly fabricated by multiple-jet electrospinning technology.
2 The resulting sponge exhibits both lightweight (low density of 7.1 mg cm–3) and robust mechanical property (large tensile strain up to 200%).
3 The sponge also shows efficient thermal insulation performance with low thermal conductivity (24.85 mW m–1 K–1), and remains structural stability even after cyclic washing, making it a promising candidate for personal protection in cold environments.

Keywords

Electrospinning Micro/nanofibrous sponge Hierarchical structure Superelasticity Thermal insulation
Yang, Fengjin, Zhifei Wang, Wei Zhang, Sai Wang, Yi‑Tao Liu, Fei Wang, Roman A. Surmenev, Jianyong Yu, Shichao Zhang, and Bin Ding. 2025. “Superelastic and Washable Micro/Nanofibrous Sponges Based on Biomimetic Helical Fibers for Efficient Thermal Insulation”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (August):42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01882-2.
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