Work

Exploring collagen fibers as sustainable materials for indoor humidity regulation

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Leather, composed of chemically modified collagen fibers, exhibits high porosity, strong hydrophilicity, and excellent permeability, making it a promising candidate for natural humidity regulation. In this study, four types of leather were evaluated, including samples treated with inorganic and organic crosslinking agents, alongside unmodified collagen fibers as a control, to investigate their humidity regulating capabilities and underlying mechanisms. Results demonstrated that collagen fibers possess abundant functional groups, a multilayered porous structure, and remarkable thermal stability, which collectively contribute to their superior performance in humidity control. Notably, chromium-modified collagen fibers exhibited exceptional recyclability, maintaining ambient humidity levels within the ideal range of 40–60 % even under environmental relative humidity fluctuations during 30–90 %. The mechanism of humidity regulation was primarily attributed to multilayer water absorption and capillary condensation, as modelled by the modified Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer (GAB) equation. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that the humidity-regulating process is predominantly driven by enthalpic changes. This study not only establishes collagen fibers as effective and sustainable materials for humidity control but also offers valuable insights for designing advanced humidity-regulating materials • Assessment of the humidity regulation capacity of five collagen fibers (CF). • The multilevel pore size is the key factor in humidity regulation. • Cr-CF exhibits outstanding recycling potential and humidity regulation capacity. • Humidity regulation relies multilayer water absorption and capillary condensation. • The humidity regulation process is predominantly driven by enthalpy changes.

Source: Industrial Crops and Products

DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.120597

Authors: Wenjun Long, Liangqiong Peng, Yue Sun, Xia Jiang, Yue Yu, Wenhua Zhang

Institutions: Sichuan University, Key Laboratory of Leather Chemistry and Engineering of Ministry of Education

Language: English

Topic: Hygrothermal properties of building materials

Subfield: Building and Construction

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,720