Jeans that can wash off stain and bacteria in sunlight coming up

Some Chinese researchers are on way to develop a cotton that can clean itself when exposed to sunlight. Jeans made of the cotton will clean itself in contact with sunlight. The clothes will de-stain and deodorize as sunlight is exposed to them. The technique may dislodge the need to clean clothes with water and washing powder in future. After using the clothes, you just have to stretch them in an open space to get them cleaned and washed off bacteria, stains and sweat. Well, the pile of laundry will no more scare you.

Self-cleaning jeans coming up

Scientists have coated the jeans in special titanium dioxide covering to realize the self-cleaning technique. Titanium coating can break down stains and dirt in direct sunlight. The compound is already in use with a variety of self-cleaning products like odor-free socks, sunscreens, windows and kitchen and bathroom tiles. Yes, it is for the first time titanium dioxide is used in clothes to get them cleaned without the chore of washing.

Earlier, stuffs covered with titanium dioxide required UV light for self-cleaning. But the Chinese scientists from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University – under Mingce Long and Deyong Wu - have harnessed a method that will remove dirt from your clothes in exposure of sunlight. For the purpose, along with titanium dioxide, they have added nitrogen, silver and iodine to develop the clothes that can clean themselves in ordinary sunlight, apart from ultraviolet rays.

The researchers claim that their experiment has proven removal of an ugly orange stain from a cotton cloth when put in sunlight. Details of the experiment are published in the Applied Material & Interface, journal of the American Chemical Society. The titanium dioxide coating will remain intact even if the clothes are washed or dried. Dirty clothes are just needed to be hung on a clothesline with enough sunlight exposure, the researchers are quoted by the journal.

See what Mingce and Deyong, the brains behind the research say of the breakthrough invention,

We are developing a new cotton fabric that does clean itself of stains and bacteria when exposed to ordinary sunlight. Our fabric uses a coating made from a compound of titanium dioxide, the white material used in everything from white paint to foods to sunscreen lotions.

Via: DailyMail