Cleaning Clothes With Sunlight Instead of Detergent

Looks like washing machine manufacturers will have to face a huge sale dip soon! The reason is that people are not going to need washing machines anymore to wash their clothes. The recent developments in the nanotechnology have made this possible. Though nanotechnology is more of a research in the material science field, it is core application of engineering.


Image Credit: inventorspot.com

The results produced by the current advancement in nanotech look very promising and can cause wonders. So we better get ourselves accustomed to reading more of such news that seem totally unbelievable.  The nanotech has an immense potential to bring about a total revolution in the medical, electronics, metallurgical and the material science fields.

Researchers at the Monash University, Australia have found a way to wash clothes not with water but sunlight. The thing starts with coating the fabric with a thin and transparent layer of titanium dioxide crystals (of size of 4-5 nanometers). The same substance is used in many other household products such as toothpaste, sun-screens and paints. What is special about this substance is its photocatalytic property. This substance produces hydroxyl ions which decompose or oxidize the organic matter. However it needs presence of sunlight and water vapor to produce these ions. But at the same time, this compound does not affect fabric material (wool, hemp, cotton, silk). The titanium dioxide layer invisible and odes not change the feel or look of the fabric.

As usual there are hurdles in this process also. Wool or hemp can not bind titanium dioxide crystals on its surface and hence they need to undergo some more chemical treatment before coating. Then the fabric is dip in the titanium dioxide nanocrystal solution for coating process. The advantages of this process are –

[*]Stain removing is extremely east task.
[*]Titanium dioxide also destroys pathogens, so hygiene is also maintained.
[*]Savings on water usage are possible.
[*]Savings on power consumption are possible.
[*]Makes efficient use of solar energy which is otherwise wasted.

However the economic viability of this process is yet to be analyzed. Still, we can hope for the best. I will be writing more about nanotechnology applications in my next few articles. So watch out this space for more.