The cool leather is suitable for warmer climates. Credit: CSIR-CLRI
Leather is synonymous with durability, luxury, and function, but is mostly worn in colder climates. In tropics and deserts, leather clothes are impractical. Now, scientists in India and Egypt have developed a ‘cool leather’ suitable for warmer climates
1.
Researchers from CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR-CLRI) in India and the Desert Research Centre in Cairo, Egypt have created a smart leather that defies traditional thermoregulation. Using phase change materials (PCMs) — substances that absorb and release heat during phase transitions, the scientists have found a way to coat leather with microscopic heat-storing elements, making it thermally adaptive.
Instead of using synthetic chemicals or external cooling agents, the researchers turned to waste from the leather industry itself. “We used raw trimmings from tanneries to create micro and mesoporous activated carbon, which acts as a carrier for our phase change material, n-eicosane,” explains Nishad Fathima, one of the scientists at CSIR-CLRI in Chennai.
PCMs are already widely used in smart textiles, climate-responsive buildings, and even high-tech microprocessors, but their application in leather is new. The micro and mesoporous activated carbon-n-eicosane composite developed in this study have excellent thermal stability, shape retention, and heat absorption capacity. This material merges the ancient art of leather production with next-generation material science,” says Venkatesan Natesan, a researcher from CSIR-CLRI.
Leather production has historically followed a geographical divide — with tropical, arid regions like India and Egypt serving as producers, while colder regions have been the primary consumers. This research challenges that pattern, paving the way for change in global leather trade, where smart leather could be just as viable in New Delhi as in New York.
“This is about more than just comfort,” says Ahmed Ibrahim Nasr from the Desert Research Centre in Cairo. “We are re-engineering leather for the future, addressing both sustainability and climate adaptation in one innovation.”
With increasing global temperatures and the fashion industry under pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, the development of temperature-regulating leather using industrial waste presents a powerful solution. The researchers believe their material could also find applications in automotive interiors, furniture, and protective gear for workers in high-heat environments.
The PCM concept can be extended for use of leather in extreme cold climates too, to provide latent heat storage in negative temperatures as low as -40°C. “Such leather upholstery can remain warm even if your car is parked in extreme cold climates without you needing to switch on heaters immediately," says Kannan Srinivasan, Director of CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), who is leading research on special chemicals for automotive upholstery.
京公网安备 11010202009378号
