In an industry-first groundbreaking research in the world of nanotechnology, a little bit of sunshine or even a light bulb is all you might need to get your clothes spick and span.
Scientists from the RMIT University in Melbourne and Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia have been remarkably instrumental in researching and developing a pioneering nanotechnology methodology that encompasses the ability to create textiles that can miraculously clean itself.
The technique behind these self-cleaning textiles is quite interesting. Copper and silver-based nanostructures are already famed for their ability in terms of absorption of light. When these nanostructures are infused into the fabric and exposed to light, they subsequently break down the organic matter such as stains from food products that are present on the cloth, making it clean.
Rajesh Ramanathan is one of the lead researchers at the Ian Potter NanoBioSensing Facility and NanoBiotechnology Research Lab at RMIT, and is spearheading this state-of-the-art research.
The team of scientists figured out that by treating fabric with certain solutions, these nanostructures were able to grow steadfastly onto the textile within a span of half an hour. Thereafter, as soon as they were exposed to light, energy is released and the varied organic compounds present on the fabric degrade and disappear. It was observed that the textile cleaned itself inexplicably within just 6 minutes.
"Basically what we do is take a simple cotton textile, we have a few different new methodologies to grow nanostructures directly on them, and then once these structures are formed we can just shine light on them," explained Ramanathan.
The idea and technique by itself isn't absolutely new per se. This practice had been adopted previously but at a small-scale level that invariably consumed lot of time and money. With the advent of research and technology, the approach is now cost-effective and time-saving, and has the potential to be instituted on a larger scale.
If all goes well, washing machines might soon be replaced with these innovative self-cleaning cloth materials.
Ramanathan further added that up until now the tests have been successfully carried out only on stains and a few difficult organic compounds, and that there is still a long way to go. Furthermore, the industry and regulatory authority requirements on this matter are yet to be looked into and ascertained.
The benefits of self-cleaning textiles are plenty. Cleaning up clothes will be absolutely easy and hassle-free, saving both cost and time in the process, and leaving behind spotlessly clean clothes. With the accumulation of day-to-day grime and pollutants on clothes that deteriorate quality and shelf life, the nano-enhanced fabric is an apt solution to tackle this.
Ramanathan is quite optimistic about this innovation and stated that this progressive approach is a strong foundation toward the development of futuristic, self-cleaning clothes.
The team's research on nanoparticles is published in the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces.
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