Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Self-Cleaning Wool And Silk Fabrics
Self-cleaning fabrics made from wool and silk have been achieved, in the laboratory, using nanoparticle coatings. In tests, coated fabrics were greatly resistant to common stains.
(Self-cleaning fabrics [pdf])
FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy) images of (a) pristine wool fiber, (b) modified wool fiber, (c) T60-coated wool fiber, (d) T60-coated modified wool fiber.
The nanoparticle coating was more effective than plain wool as well as wool coated with a conventional stain-fighting coating.
(Comparison of nanotech coating for stain protection [pdf])
"wool treated with a new nanoparticle coating (bottom row) removed red wine stains more effectively than plain wool (top row) and wool coated with another stain-fighting chemical (middle row), scientists say. (Credit: Monash University and American Chemical Society) It shows "the degradation of red wine stains on pristine PO, T60-coated TO, and T60-coated modified TS samples after 0, 8, and 20 h of light irradiation by a solar light simulator."
The study concludes:
This study shows that self-cleaning fibrous proteins such as wool can be produced by a simple coating process with anatase TiO2 under mild conditions. A modification of these fibrous proteins with succinic anhydride introduces additional carboxylic groups by acylation which allows for enhanced bonding between TiO2 and the fibers that in turn results in more effective self-cleaning properties. The chemical modi- fication and anatase coating processes do not employ toxic reagents or solvents and the procedures are carried out under mild conditions favorable for keratinous materials.
Science fiction fans are ready to order their self-cleaing clothing; Neal Stephenson serves up the vision from his 1995 book The Diamond Age:
...with a quick brush, John and Gwendolyn were able to transfer most of the dirt onto their white gloves. From there it went straight into the air. Most gentlemen's and ladies' gloves nowadays were constructed of infinitesimal fabricules that knew how to eject dirt; you could thrust your gloved hand into mud, and it would be white a few seconds later.
(Read more about fabricules)
If you're into the subject, take a look at Self-Cleaning Sportswear and Polymer Film Sprinkled With Silver Nanoparticles.
From Self-Cleaning Fabrics via Roland.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/18/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Clothing ")
Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.' - Robert Heinlein, 1942.
'Soft Assembly' Fashions That Fashion Themselves On The Wearer
'Clothes are no longer made from dead fibers of fixed color and texture that can approximate only crudely to the vagrant human figure...' - JG Ballard, 1970.
Rigid Metallic Clothing From Science Fiction To You
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1932.
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...' - Margaret St. Clair, 1949.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Birds Learn To Sing Pictures ala Frank Herbert's Distrans
'We will fight in the time of fighting.'
ElectionSim: China's 'Ender's Game' Battle Sim, Or Lem's 'Kingdom In A Box'?
'So, Ender, we will now begin your education.'
Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
Flock Stymied By 'Adversarial Fashion'
'Forget the head atop it, the legs below, feet, arms, hands. It compels erasure.'
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
ICE Buys Shock Gloves Like Batman's
What else is the Caped Crusader using?
Factories In The Sky Will Surpass Those Of Earth
'The thirty-odd miles of The Factory’s circumference...'
Sleeper Drones Lie in Wait
'Wandering mines, you took them out on the edge of the desert, set them down and activated them.'
Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine
'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'
3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'
Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'
How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'
The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'
Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'
Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'
