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Germ Kill Clothing: Nanotech Couture


Nanotechnology describes the science of using very small-scale materials, like individual atoms and molecules, to build machines and technologies on incredibly small scales.

Nanotechnology is a new science, and many of its most promising applications in medicine, chemistry, engineering, and electronics are still being developed in labs around the world. In many ways, nano-scale technologies are already among us.

Stain Resistant Clothing

There are companies that use nanotechnology to make clothing that resist dirt, stains, and water. Spill a glass of water on a pair of pants coated with water-resistant nanoparticles, and instead of soaking into the fabric, the water beads and slides right off.

A Germ Killing Dress?

Silver is a natural antibacterial, and on the nanoscale silver’s bacteria killing properties are even more pronounced. A dress containing embedded silver particles can, at least theoretically, kill germs and help prevent colds and other illnesses.

A jacket coated with nanoscale palladium particles can oxidize smog, which could protect the wearer from harmful pollutants in contaminated air. This is just a small sample of the practical ways that nanotechnology can be used. Over the next several decades, it’s a safe bet that this science of the very small will have a big impact on our world.

New Electric Car Motors with Nanotechnology Batteries


Electric car engines with nanotechnology batteries may be the vehicles of the future, but what exactly are these batteries and how do they help electric cars? Batteries that are the product of nanotechnology have an increased power, and take much less time to recharge than traditional batteries do. Nanotechnology allows the surface of the electrode in the battery to be coated with nanoparticles. This method creates a larger surface area on the electrode, and this will allow an increased flow of current between the chemicals that are stored in the battery and the electrode. This means lighter batteries that are much easier for cars to carry, and also allows for more or larger batteries without increasing the weight compared to traditional batteries. This can make electric cars much more efficient because they will require less recharging time and go further between charges.

Batteries that use nanotechnology also last much longer when not in use, for an increased life. These batteries separate the liquids and electrodes when the battery is not being used, so that there is no low level discharge to shorten the life of the battery. One of the most well known nanotechnology produced batteries is the Lithium ion battery. This battery is very light in weight, and has increased the efficiency of electric cars significantly. These batteries also last around ten years, which is almost double the life of nickel metal hydride batteries.

Electric car engines that use nanotechnology batteries may end up being the engines of the future. Nanotechnology batteries offer many benefits over other battery types, including both efficiency and durability. Advances in nanotechnology may even further revolutionalize the way batteries are made and used. Global warming and concern over the environment and our effect on it has caused many people to examine their vehicle and transportation options more carefully, and try to choose options which have a more positive environmental impact. Electric cars that use nanotechnology batteries are a huge leap in this direction. Electric cars cause no pollution and emit no greenhouse gases, making them a much better alternative to gasoline and diesel vehicles. With electric cars, there is also no dependence on oil and other fossil fuels, or outrageous diesel and gas prices because of fossil fuel imports from foreign countries and worries about supply and demand.




Protecting the environment and our atmosphere means using green energy and fuel sources, and this is exactly what nanotechnology batteries used in electric cars provides. Nanotechnology has advanced to the point where electric cars are much more efficient and convenient than they used to be, and there is not a need to recharge frequently or be limited to a small distance. Electric cars are one option for a fossil fuel free future, and nanotechnology batteries make this option a very real possibility. The future of transportation in America, and across the globe, may include electrical recharge stations instead of gas stations, and an energy grid may be developed to allow electric cars to be charged during hours with low demand instead of peak hours where electricity is in very high demand. The end of oil based fuels is near, and alternative energy methods must be perfected before this happens. Until nanotechnology batteries were developed, electric cars did not show much promise as a major alternative. Since nanotechnology has been used together with batteries, however, the electric cars of the future may become very efficient, and be a major transportation source for many people including Americans.



Here is an experiment:




Fashion designers and fiber scientists at Cornell have taken “functional clothing” to a whole new level. They have designed a garment that can prevent colds and flu and never needs washing, and another that destroys harmful gases and protects the wearer from smog and air pollution. The two-toned gold dress and metallic denim jacket, contain cotton fabrics coated with nanoparticles that give them functional qualities never before seen in the fashion world. Designed by Olivia Ong in the College of Human Ecology’s Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, the garments were infused with their unusual qualities by fiber science assistant professor Juan Hinestroza and his postdoctoral researcher Hong Dong. Apparel design assistant professor Van Dyke Lewis launched the collaboration by introducing Ong to Hinestroza several months ago.”We think this is one of the first times that nanotechnology has entered the fashion world,” Hinestroza said. He noted one drawback may be the garments’ price: one square yard of nano-treated cotton would cost about $10,000. Ong’s dress and jacket, part of her original fashion line called “Glitterati,” look innocently hip. But closer inspection — with a microscope, that is — shows an army of electrostatically charged nanoparticles creating a protective shield around the cotton fibers in the top part of the dress, and the sleeves, hood and pockets of the jacket.”It’s something really moving toward the future, and really advanced,” said Ong, who graduates in December and aspires to design school. “I thought this could potentially be what fashion is moving toward.”Dong explained that the fabrics were created by dipping them in solutions containing nanoparticles synthesized in Hinestroza’s lab. The resultant colors are not the product of dyes, but rather, reflections of manipulation of particle size or arrangement.The upper portion of the dress contains cotton coated with silver nanoparticles. Dong first created positively charged cotton fibers using ammonium- and epoxy-based reactions, inducing positive ionization. The silver particles, about 10-20 nanometers across (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter) were synthesized in citric acid, which prevented nanoparticle agglomeration. Dipping the positively charged cotton into the negatively charged silver nanoparticle solution resulted in the particles clinging to the cotton fibers. Silver possesses natural antibacterial qualities that are strengthened at the nanoscale, thus giving Ong’s dress the ability to deactivate many harmful bacteria and viruses. The silver infusion also reduces the need to wash the garment, since it destroys bacteria, and the small size of the particles prevents soiling and stains.The denim jacket includes a hood, sleeves and pockets with soft, gray tweed cotton embedded with palladium nanoparticles, about 5-10 nanometers in length. To create the material, Dong placed negatively charged palladium crystals onto positively charged cotton fibers. Ong, though strictly a designer, was drawn especially to the science behind creating the anti-smog jacket.”I thought it would be cool if [wearers] could wipe their hands on their sleeves or pockets,” Ong said. Ong incorporated the resultant cotton fiber into a jacket with the ability to oxidize smog. Such properties would be useful for someone with allergies, or for protecting themselves from harmful gases in the contaminated air, such as in a crowded or polluted city.

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