What’s next? Self-cleaning clothes?
Despite stringent solvent regulations and harsh economic times, many drycleaners
still feel their businesses will find a way to survive because they offer a
service that customers lack the time, equipment and desire to duplicate at
home. After all, the clothes cannot clean themselves.
Or can they?
Researchers in Australia and China have recently developed nanotechnology to the
point that it can be applied to wool, silk and cotton clothing to create what
they call self-cleaning garments.
Dr. Walid Daoud of Monash University in Australia, along with several
colleagues, believes their studies will open the door to a retail market of
clothes that can remove their own odor, dirt and stains with only the help of
sunshine.
The secret ingredient in these self-cleaning garments is the binding of a
nanoparticle coating that absorbs ultraviolet light.
“The self-cleaning technology in our work uses a titanium dioxide photocatalyst
that, when triggered by light, decomposes dirt, stains, harmful microorgranisms
and so on,” said Dr. Daoud during an interview with the UK newspaper The Telegraph.
Similar technology has already been used in the creation of self-cleaning
windows.
Typically, the microscopic nanoparticles involved in the process are
approximately 2,500 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
During field tests of the self-cleaning garment technology, Dr. Daoud and other
researchers exposed soiled fabric samples to simulated sunlight.
Coffee stains disappeared after only two hours. More difficult stains such as
blue ink and red wine required more time — 17 and 20 hours, respectively.
Untreated garments with the same stains were used in a side by side comparison.
Those fabrics remained deeply stained.
The researchers claim that the nanoparticle coating is non-toxic and kinder to
fabrics than the chemicals used in drycleaning. Another plus is that they can
be permanently attached to the garment’s fibers without altering its texture or feel.
The self-cleaning clothes can also help conserve a considerable amount of water
and energy that is normally utilized during the cleaning process.
However, there is still a debate in the scientific community over how safe
nanoparticles really are since little is known about the potential health and
environmental effects of the relatively new technology.
Currently, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is in the
process of developing guidelines for workers who handle nanomaterials because
the risks involved with them remain unclear.
Regardless, that hasn’t stopped the United States federal government from spending about a billion
dollars a year on nanotechnology research and its seemingly limitless
potential.
In recent years, many other industries have also invested in nanotechnology
studies resulting in promising breakthroughs, including the improvement of
hundreds of everyday products.
In fact, nanotechnology has lead to longer-lasting tennis balls, water repellent
and stain resistant clothing, and faster and more powerful computers.
In the medical field, scientists are utilizing the technology to develop new
breakthroughs in drugs for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Other
applications include using nanomaterials as artificial tissues in an effort to
repair nerve damage or even replace diseased kidneys and livers.
With such an upside, there is little doubt that nanotechnology will continue to
be developed. Products such as the self-cleaning garments will likely be made
available in the near future.
“It is anticipated that as soon as the technology receives the approval
technically and economically, you will then be able to see the product in the
market,” Dr. Daoud informed an ANI correspondent. “Currently, industrial testing and mill trials of this patent-pending technology
are being conducted.”
“I believe that self-cleaning property will become a standard feature of future
textiles and other commonly used materials to maintain hygiene and prevent the
spread of pathogenic infection,” he noted. “Particularly since pathogenic microorganisms can survive on textile surfaces for
up to three months.”
It could take about five years for the retail market for self-cleaning clothes
and linens to launch as the technology still needs refining. Dr. Daoud and his
team hope to adapt their process for use with indoor lighting.
Conceivably, there could soon come a day when Americans start using clotheslines
more frequently again, albeit to clean clothes in the sun or artificial light
instead of just hanging them out to dry.
Dr. Daoud’s research was recently published in the American Chemical Society journal
Chemistry of Materials.
