New Fabric: Clothes That Clean Themselves With Light

Scientists at RMIT University, Australia, have successfully created a new type of fabric that can self-clean with light.

Nanostructured woven cotton is invisible to the naked eye in this 200x magnification image. Photo: RMIT University.

According to research results published on March 23 in the journal Advanced Materials, a new type of fabric is the product of scientists at RMIT University, Australia. The fabric is coated with a special photocatalyst made from copper and silver nanoparticles that helps automatically decompose organic dirt under the effect of light from light bulbs or the Sun.

"The advantage of these textiles is that they have a 3D structure, which allows them to absorb light easily, thereby accelerating the degradation of organic matter," said Dr. Rajesh Ramanathan, a member of the research team, Phys.org. The nanophotocatalyst developed by Ramanathan's team has a wide range of applications in agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and natural products, and is easily scaled up to the industrial level.

“While there is still a lot of work to be done before we say goodbye to washing machines, with these advances, we can definitely look forward to the birth of new self-cleaning fabrics,” Dr Ramanathan stressed.

When the nanostructures are exposed to light, they absorb energy and generate “hot” electrons. The “hot” electrons then release energy that allows the nanostructures to degrade organic matter.

150,000x magnified image of cotton nanostructures. Photo: RMIT University.

The challenge for researchers is to take this technology out of the lab by manufacturing it on an industrial scale and multiplying the lifespan of the nano-photocatalyst on the fabric.

Currently, nanomaterials are incorporated into fabric fibers by dipping the fibers in a solution for 30 minutes. When exposed to light, the product takes less than 6 minutes to self-clean.

“In the next step, we will test this special fabric with common organic compounds like tomato sauce or wine,” Ramanathan said.

According to VNE