Seeger explained to New Scientist. "The water comes
to rest on the top of the nanofilaments like a fakir sitting on a bed of
nails," he says.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
NANOTECH CLOTHING post by Iman Nazarian
I just found a pretty interesting article about nanotech
clothing fabrics that don't get wet. The technology is imitating the way
aquatic plants float on water without getting wet (they repel water).
A video so guys know what I mean by water repelling:
Here is how it works:
"The secret to this incredible water resistance is
the layer of silicone nanofilaments, which are highly chemically hydrophobic.
The spiky structure of the 40-nanometre-wide filaments strengthens that effect,
to create a coating that prevents water droplets from soaking through the
coating to the polyester fibres underneath.
"The combination of the hydrophobic surface
chemistry and the nanostructure of the coating results in the super-hydrophobic
effect,"
A similar combination of water-repelling substances and
tiny nanostructures is responsible for many natural examples of extreme water
resistance, such as the surface of Lotus leaves.
The silicone nanofilaments also trap a layer of air
between them, to create a permanent air layer. Similar layers - known as
plastrons - are used by some insects and spiders to breathe underwater."
For more:
Can you imagine having self cleaning clothes?
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These self cleaning clothes sound pretty cool. Do you know what types of stains they work for? It sounds like the would only work for water based stains since its hydrophobic. Would this cloth also repel oil based stains?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, water should be able to pick up dust, fat and oil when poured over the material. So the water picks up the dirt and and just rolls off the material. I doubt the material will repel oil because of the low surface tension oil has. However, as already said, just pouring water over the material should do the trick since it picks up the oil (at least most of it).
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