Thermal and Reflective Coating

Thermal and reflective coatings apply metallic (aluminum, gold, silver) or ceramic (ZrO₂, Al₂O₃) layers onto textile substrates via vacuum metallization, sputtering, or reflective pigment (aluminum flake 5–25 µm) dispersion coating at 5–50 g/m². Aluminum metallization achieves reflectivity of 85–95% in infrared (0.8–15 µm) reducing radiant heat transmission by 90–97% for emergency blankets and fire proximity suits. Sputtered silver coatings (50–200 nm) provide electrical conductivity of 0.1–10 Ω/sq for electromagnetic shielding (30–60 dB attenuation, 1–3 GHz). Phase change material (PCM) microcapsules incorporated into coating formulations store 100–200 kJ/kg latent heat for thermoregulatory textiles.