TECH SPECIAL....................... HOME SCIENCE!

HOME SCIENCE! 
 

From clothes that purify the air to self-healing materials; sprayable antennas to paintable batteries, scientists are working on some amazing technologies that will soon be making their way into our homes and lives…

Things that heal themselves
Synthetic materials – unlike bio-structures such as human skin – cannot heal by themselves. But imagine fixing a broken flower vase, a bicycle tyre, or a toy without any adhesives or applying heat; where all you’d need to do is hold the broken/torn parts together till they start joining at a molecular level.
    Well, scientists at the CIDETEC Centre for Electrochemical Technologies in Spain have created a polymer that mends itself.
Nicknamed Terminator after the shape-shifting, molten T-1000 robot in the Hollywood flick, the material can bind itself together even after being severed with a razor blade. In an experiment, the scientists sliced a cylinder made of the polymer into two pieces. The two halves were then “put in contact and allowed to stand at room-temperature, without applying any pressure,” the researchers said. ‘Terminator’ started self-healing immediately; was over 90% healed within two hours, and completely healed within 24 hours. The team believes their breakthrough technology could eventually lead to self-repairing pipes, bicycle tyres and toys, among other possibilities.
For water-proof and stain-proof surfaces
So you’ve just walked through ankle-deep muck, yet the sports shoes you’re wearing emerge absolutely dry and without any stains. Similarly, oil just rolls off your work overalls. And you can even spend an entire day painting your home, or the whole morning working in the garden, still, the jeans and gloves you have on are spot free. Amazing, huh?
    What’s even more amazing is that such water- and stain-proofing technology already exists.
    Rust-Oleum’s NeverWet and Resource Energy Group’s Ultra-Ever Dry are two “superhydrophobic” coating technologies that can keep objects dry by repelling liquids.
    Both products comprise a double coating that guards practically any surface – metal, concrete, wood, plastic, fabric, leather and canvas – against staining, wear caused by exposure to moisture, and even bacteria.
    To protect any surface you simply have to apply the base coat, and allow it to dry for half an hour. Then, apply the second coat – and within 30 minutes, your stuff is waterproof.
    When a liquid hits the treated surface, it forms nearly perfect spheres that simply glide off, keeping the item clean and dry. Hah! And it even works against thicker, water-based liquids like syrups, juices and condiments.
Clothes that purify
Within a few years, we could all be wearing clothes that purify the air. A collaboration between British researchers – chemist Tony Ryan from the University of Sheffield and artist-designer-professor Helen Storey from the London College of Fashion – has resulted in a liquid laundry additive called ‘CatClo’ (Catalytic Clothing), which contains nano pollutioneating particles that fight nitrogen oxides.
    Nitrogen oxides produced by car exhausts are a major source of ground-level air pollution in cities, aggravating asthma and other respiratory diseases. Items of clothing only need to be washed in CatClo once for the nano-particles of titanium dioxide to grip tightly onto fabric fibres.
    When these particles come into contact with nitrogen oxides in the air, they react with these pollutants and oxidise them.
    The technology is perfectly safe and is unnoticeable from the wearer’s point of view. One person wearing clothes treated with CatClo would be able to remove around 5g of nitrogen oxides from the air in a day – roughly equivalent to the amount produced each day by an average car.
    The team believes that if thousands of people in a typical city used the additive, it could significantly improve the local air quality. They’re now working closely with a manufacturer of environmentally-friendly cleaning products to commercialise CatClo.
Antennas in a can
Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? But it’s true. Chamtech Enterprises, based out of the US, has developed technology that will allow you to ‘spray an antenna’ whenever you need one. Their aerosol formulation lets you convert any vertical structure – including a tree, pole, wall or fence – into a radio antenna.
    The solution comprises thousands of nano-capacitors that lays out in the right pattern when you spray it over any surface, according to company CEO Anthony Sutera.
    In tests, Chamtech engineers used a painted tree to transmit signals to an airplane 22km overhead; double the range that they could get on a standard antenna on the ground.
    Now consider the applications: No network in any particular room of your house? Simply spray the lamppost opposite your window. Lo and behold, you have a signal-boosting antenna.
    Or, think about a highway where you have a painted Chamtech strip running down the road to give you seamless broadband connectivity in your vehicle. The best part? You can get rid of all the ugly cell towers; you just need to paint walls and trees.
Liquid wood
In the mid 1900s, plastic – hailed as a miracle material and a product of cutting-edge science – started replacing metal, wood and glass in most consumer durables. But then, boffins started speaking about its toxicity and how its long-term use could spell ecological disaster for our planet. Now, more than half a century later – in the absence of a viable alternative – this non-biodegradable material is still used everywhere. The pen within your reach is made of it, your cell phone is too; look around, so are the water bottles in your refrigerator, the computer on your desk, and even your children’s toys. Thankfully, chemists have been hard at work for the last few decades to create sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives that do not use petroleum products in their mix. Australian company, Zeoform and the Germany-based Tecnaro have independently developed durable materials that could replace plastic in the very near future. Zeoform’s material (also known as Zeoform) is made using water and cellulose from recycled paper and renewable plants like flax and industrial hemp. The resulting pellets and sheets can be sprayed or moulded to build furniture, jewellery, and even musical instruments. Halfway around the world, Tecnaro’s Arboform – aka ‘liquid wood’ – is made from natural resins and the leftover fibres created by the paper industry. The ensuing mixture can be injected into moulds to make just about anything that plastics can be used for – and it’s entirely recyclable. It can be sawed, burned and disposed of just like wood.
Power in paint
Well, if you can have aerosol antennas, why not paintable batteries? Researchers at Rice University in the US have developed a lithium-ion battery that can be painted on almost any surface. The rechargeable battery consists of spray-painted layers, each representing the components in a traditional battery. Neelam Singh, a Rice graduate student, and her team formulated, mixed and tested paints for each of the five layered components – two current collectors, a cathode, an anode and a polymer separator in the middle. In tests, these materials were airbrushed onto ceramic bathroom tiles, glass, stainless steel and even a beer mug to see how well they would bond with each material. When fully charged, the batteries could power a set of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for six hours; provided a steady 2.4 volts, and displayed a very small drop in capacity even after they were put through 60 charge-discharge cycles. The Rice team plans on refining the technology over time, and believes that it could be combined with solar cells to transform almost any source – like home and office exteriors, for instance – into energy harvesters. Need more power, just paint another outer wall, eh?

— Savio D’Souza BT 140112