Can you imagine a t-shirt that can be cleaned just by hanging it out in the sun , without having to wash it with water and detergent? A study published in the journal Applied Materials & Interfaces reveals that researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) have already succeeded. His invention is a cotton fabric covered by titanium dioxide nanoparticles with nitrogen and an extra layer of silver iodide. When they receive sunlight, these elements work together forcing electrons to separate and dirt to detach. To test whether their invention was effective, the engineers stained the fabrics with orange dye and exposed them to the sun: after two hours in the light, 71% of the stain was gone.
In addition, after washing with water and drying the garment, the self-cleaning capacity with sunlight is maintained, which allows to continue using the “classic” method of washing clothes at the same time that the new “dry” technology is available.
