self-washing jean

                                   "Self-washing dress" a dream of all youths especially the hostelers. As a first step they have invented a self-washing jean. Yes,Chinese researchers have developed a cotton that de-stains and deodorises itself in contact with sunlight

If your pile of laundry never seems to get any smaller, don’t despair.
Scientists have developed a  self-cleaning cotton which could  one day make washing clothes a chore of the past.
The cloth is covered in a special  titanium dioxide coating which breaks down dirt and stains when exposed to sunlight.
The compound is already used in a range of products, including  self-cleaning windows, kitchen and bathroom tiles, sunscreen and even odour-free socks.
Self-cleaning cotton has been made before, the researchers explained, but it was of limited use as it only cleaned itself properly when exposed to UV light, which makes up a fraction of the sun’s output.
So they added nitrogen, silver and iodine to the titanium dioxide  coating – and found it could trigger rapid and effective cleaning in ordinary sunlight.
After just two hours of light, an ugly orange stain had vanished from the coated fabric but was still stuck firmly to normal cotton, the American Chemical Society journal Applied Material & Interfaces reports.

   

'Results showed that fabric coated with the material removes an orange dye stain when exposed to sunlight,' said the researchers

The coating also remains intact after washing and drying, according to the researchers, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, and it worked time and time again.

It could mean one day everything from sheets to socks will rarely – if ever – require washing.

However, study authors Mingce Long and Deyong Wu have yet to offer a type of cotton that can clean itself during a miserable and wet British summer.

The pair, whose findings were published in journal Applied Sciences and Interfaces said: ‘Imagine jeans, sweats or socks that clean and deodorise themselves when hung on a clothesline in the sun or draped on a balcony railing.

‘We are developing a new cotton fabric that does clean itself of stains and bacteria when exposed to ordinary sunlight. Our fabric uses a coating made from a compound of titanium dioxide, the white material used in everything from white paint to foods to sunscreen lotions.

‘Titanium dioxide breaks down dirt and kills microbes when exposed to some types of light. It already has found uses in self-cleaning windows, kitchen and bathroom tiles, odour-free socks and other products.’

Titanium dioxide is one of the most widely used chemicals in the world - and is already used in sunscreens, self-cleaning windows, kitchen and bathroom tiles, odour-free socks and other products

They added: ‘Self-cleaning cotton fabrics have been made in the past, but they self-clean thoroughly only when exposed to ultraviolet rays.

‘So we set out to develop a new cotton fabric that cleans itself when exposed to ordinary sunlight.

Pugh's take on the breakthrough

‘We used cotton fabric coated with nanoparticles made from a compound of titanium dioxide and nitrogen. 

‘Further dispersing nanoparticles composed of silver and iodine accelerates the discoloration process. The coating remains intact after washing and drying.’

The team, from Donghua University in China set out to come up with a new version of self-cleaning cotton that could work well in ordinary sunlight.

Titanium dioxide is already used in a wide range of everyday items including self-cleaning products designed for windows and tiles.

By covering the fabric with nanoparticules made from titanium dioxide and nitrogen, they were able to remove an orange die stain when exposed to sunlight.

Adding nanoparticles made from silver and iodine was found to further speed up the cleaning process, with the coating remaining intact even after it has been washed and dried using conventional methods. 

But don’t throw away the washing powder just yet – the scientists did not say when we could expect to find the invention in shops.

source:Geekswipe.