Researchers at Victoria’s Monash University have found a way to coat fibres with titanium dioxide nanocrystals, which break down food and dirt in sunlight, making natural fibres such as wool, silk, and hemp that will automatically remove food, grime, and even red-wine stains when exposed to sunlight.
Fibres are coated with a thin, invisible layer of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, four to five nanometers in size. Titanium dioxide, which is used in sunscreens, toothpaste, and paint, is a strong photocatalyst: in the presence of ultraviolet light and water vapour, it forms hydroxyl radicals, which oxidize, or decompose, organic matter. These nanocrystals however, cannot decompose wool and are harmless to skin, and moreover, the coating does not change the look and feel of the fabric.
Titanium dioxide can also destroy pathogens such as bacteria in the presence of sunlight by breaking down the cell walls of the microorganisms, which could make self-cleaning fabrics especially useful in hospitals and other medical settings.
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