Researchers Develop Self-Cleaning Clothes

Ponca City, We Love You writes "Researchers at Monash University, in Australia, have found a process to coat natural fibers such as wool, silk, and hemp that will automatically remove food, grime, and even red-wine stains by coating their fibers with titanium dioxide nanocrystals, which break down food and dirt in sunlight. Titanium dioxide is a strong photocatalyst and in the presence of ultraviolet light and water vapor, it forms hydroxyl radicals, which oxidize, or decompose, organic matter. "These nanocrystals cannot decompose wool and are harmless to skin," says organic chemist and nanomaterials researcher Walid Daoud. Titanium dioxide can also destroy pathogens such as bacteria in the presence of sunlight by breaking down the cell walls of the microorganisms making self-cleaning fabrics especially useful in hospitals and other medical settings."

Interesting variety of uses

[brian0918]

It's interesting that a compound normally used in dyes [wikipedia.org] is now being use to prevent stains.

Two questions

[Valdrax]

1) Does this process bleach the fabric? (i.e. Does this work for colors other than white?)
2) What does this do to the longevity of the fibers in the fabric? Does constant exposure to hydroxyl ions damage the cellulose in them?

Life span of garment?

[RandoX]

Titanium dioxide is a strong photocatalyst and in the presence of ultraviolet light and water vapor, it forms hydroxyl radicals

It sounds like some of the titanium dioxide is used up in the process. How long will the self-cleaning property last?

Re:Awesome

[Wandering Wombat]

That was my first thought, too. Sunlight is only allowed in recovery rooms at any of the hospitals I've been in, and MAYBE some lobbies.

Still, fluorescent tubes not only cause me to have seizures, but they also produce huge amounts of ultraviolet light. Will they still work? (No, the humor is not lost on me that the lighting in hospitals causes me to have seizures... )

Armpit Stink

[Numbah One]

Can these self-cleaning clothes handle the "armpit stank" most of us put out? those living in the basement of their parent's house might not consider this much of an issue, but the rest of us do :-)

self-cleaning and self-destructing?

[G4from128k]

What stops the hydroxyl radicals produced by Ti02 from oxidizing the organic material in the cotton, silk, or hemp fibers?

Sounds like a great way to ensure no one wears last year's fashions.

Wait a cotton pickin minute?

[arizwebfoot]

which oxidize, or decompose, organic matter

How does it know the difference between a piece of pork and your skin?

Re:self-cleaning and self-destructing?

[adamchou]

More important than that, what happens to my skin when it gets oxidized?

Totally off topic

[Deagol]

But what is wrong with this picture [wikimedia.org] (from one of the Wikipedia links above)? Is she some sort or slave woman whose chains were photoshopped from her legs but not all of her shadow? WTF?

Re:Man, I remember when Lead was safe too

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a small number of people who are allergic to titanium dioxide.

I only know this because I am one of them. This is annoying because it means I can't use toothpaste, eat m&m's (or any other hard candy for the most part), and I get surface rashes from transfer exposure; e.g. my wife can no longer paint her fingernails because most nail polish has titanium dioxide. We only found out I had the allergy after we bought my wedding band, a beautiful piece of titanium...

Re:The Man in the White Suit

[fm6]

Great movie, though not as good as the Lavender Hill Mob. What's particularly interesting is that the this fictional fabric had exactly the same issues (durability, colors other than white) that are being raised with respect to this new fabric!

Since this is Slashdot, it's worth mentioning that the star of these movies was Obi-Wan himself, Alec Guinness. Oddly enough, Sir Alec hated them, not so much on artistic grounds but because he felt that Ealing Studios treated its actors poorly. He was particularly pissed about shoddy safety measures during the shooting of Lavender Hill Mob, during which he nearly fell off the Eiffel Tower!

Re:Totally off topic

[bickerdyke]

definitly.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:String_Bikini_(Jassi)_Front.jpg [wikimedia.org]

Same Model, different Bikini,chain around her neck :-)

Re:Two questions

[mdielmann]

If the coating is thick enough, light should not be able to get through and start the degradation of the fabric/dyes.

Um, if the light can't get through, how can the dye reflect any light? And if the dye is on the surface of the nanocrystal coating, how is this going to stop the dye from being exposed to hydroxyl ions?