Smart textiles with self-cleaning capabilities and protection against abrasion inspired by leaves and insect wings.
By: Yael Halfman Cohen
How do leaves of certain plants always stay clean? How do butterfly wings repel water and dirt? They don't take a bath, nor do laundry. The Schoeller Technologies company from Switzerland, which is engaged in the development of textile technologies, examined this issue, and studied plant leaves and insect wings, in order to discover an answer to the surprising question - where does the dirt go?
In the past we have already reported a lot about the lotus effect, the self-cleaning effect of the lotus leaves associated with nanometric protrusions found on the surface of the leaf epidermis. Researchers from Shuler Technologies identified a similar effect in another variety of insect leaves and wings. Nanometer structures on the surface of leaves and insect wings repel water, oil, and dirt, reducing wear and scratches on the surface.
In the past there was an attempt by a Japanese company to apply this effect to textiles, but the attempt was not commercially successful. Shuler Technologies managed to translate this general effect into a textile processing technology called NanoSphere® that gives the fabric a self-cleaning effect similar to the natural effect.
It is now possible to purchase the fabrics with the effect or purchase a license to use the technology. While water, oil and dirt are absorbed by normal textiles due to the large contact area between external factors on the surface of the textile, textiles that have been treated with the Nanosphere® technology, repel external substances due to a limited contact area with the textile. Descriptively and simply, the peaks of the nanometer structures can be simulated as a buffer that keeps the external factors away from the surface of the textile, while reducing the contact and attachment of these factors. The outer drops roll off and are removed from the surface. The result - a clean but still breathable fabric, with self-cleaning capabilities, dirt and water repellency, protection against abrasion, and less need for chemicals and water required for cleaning and washing.
