When Exposed To Sunlight, These Clothes Clean Themselves

[Kor37 9]

When Exposed to Sunlight, These Clothes Clean Themselves

Posted Feb 12th 2008 4:22PM by Will Safer

Filed under: Green Tech

 

Could this mean the end of laundry day? Textile scientists in Australia and Hong Kong have developed a special coating for fabrics made of titanium dioxide nanoparticles that actually cause the fabric to self-clean when exposed to sunlight.

 

Besides the obvious benefit of less time spent doing laundry, the new fabric could also mean less water used to wash clothes and less detergent being washed down drains -- both of which are good for the environment.

 

When hit by direct sunlight, the nanoparticles -- specifically Keratins, a class of biologically fibrous proteins -- begin to interact with oxygen in the air, breaking down stains and dirt. According to a report on the scientists' findings in the science journal Chemistry of Materials, red-wine stains on pieces of wool started to fade within a few minutes of exposure to light and had all but vanished within a day (see the time-elapsed test here).

 

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.switched...61k_0004-sm.jpg

 

Supposedly, the nanoparticle coating does not affect the feel of treated clothing, but it may make the clothing less durable over time. It could take about five years to refine the technology to make it ready for wide distribution and use.

 

Note: This does not mean you can stop bathing -- an important caveat, especially for the Switched.com interns.

 

 

 

WOW....... <_<

[trekz 7]

This indeed sounds fascinating as a great advancement in clothing and chemistry.

 

In related research, there is rumor of great developments at Van Roy Chemicals where they are working on womens clothing with nanoparticles that dissolve when exposed to sunlight for beachwear to be test marketed inititally in ... California. <_<

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

At least they are biodegradable.

[TJ Phaserman 2]

save myself time and money

[ddillard 2]

This would be a great thing. It would make life so much easier for those with a very busy life. Spill something on your shirt at work, just take your lunch outside and come back in with a clean set of clothes, lol.

 

OMG, just realized that this would be awesome for paintball clothes, lol.