Self Cleaning Textile

1. Deeksha Singh Sengar
B.Des FD 13/02

2. RMIT University develops nano-enhanced
textiles that clean themselves with light
Researchers at the RMIT University have developed
a cheap and efficient new way to grow special
nanostructures, which can degrade organic matter
when exposed to light directly onto textiles. The
work paves the way towards nano-enhanced
textiles that can spontaneously clean themselves
of stains and grime simply by being put under a
light bulb or worn out in the sun, the University
reports.
The research has been published on the cover
of the high-impact journal Advanced Materials
Interfaces.

3. The researchers from the Ian
Potter NanoBioSensing Facility
and NanoBiotechnology Research
Lab at RMIT worked with copper
and silver-based nanostructures,
which are known for their ability
to absorb visible light.
When the nanostructures are
exposed to light, they receive an
energy boost that creates hot
electrons. These hot electrons
release a burst of energy that is
said to enable the
nanostructures to degrade
organic matter.

4. The study outlines the three-step process of getting the metal
nanostructures onto the textile.
Step1Priming the
cotton
fabric using
an acidic
solution of
tin
chloride.
Step2
The fabric was
then dipped into
a palladium salt
solution, which
caused
palladium (a
rare metal)
nuclei to
spontaneously
form on the
fibers.
Step3
Copper and
silver baths
hastened the
growth of
photoactive
metal
nanostructure
s.

6. A team at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
developed a way to apply nanostructures directly onto cotton
textiles using a process called electroless deposition
“The advantage of textiles is they already have a 3D structure so
they are great at absorbing light, which in turn speeds up the
process of degrading organic matter,” he said.
The RMIT team’s novel approach was to grow the nanostructures
directly onto the textiles by dipping them into a few solutions,
resulting in the development of stable nanostructures within 30
minutes.
When exposed to light, it took less than six minutes for some of
the nano-enhanced textiles to spontaneously clean themselves by
degrading the organic matter on its fibers.

7. Dr Rajesh Ramanathan said the process
developed by the team had a variety of
applications for catalysis-based
industries such as agrochemicals,
pharmaceuticals and natural products,
and could be easily scaled up to
industrial levels.
The work is significant as it shows the potential
for growing nanomaterials directly onto textile
surfaces using simple and efficient processes,
and understanding the underlying mechanistic
aspect on the influence of light could help tailor
the materials for other applications apart from
catalysis.