BBC News – Self-cleaning cotton nanoparticle coating invented

Efforts to create self-cleaning cotton fabrics are bearing fruit in China.

Engineers have created a chemical coating that causes cotton materials to clean themselves of stains and remove odours when exposed to sunlight.

The researchers say the treatment is cheap, non-toxic and ecologically friendly.

Retail experts say the innovation could prove a hit with retailers thanks to a growing demand for “functional clothing”.

The research was carried out by engineers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Hubei University for Nationalities, and is published in the latest issue of the Applied Materials and Interfaces journal.

The study focuses on titanium dioxide – a chemical known to be an “excellent catalyst in the degradation of organic pollutants”.

The substance is already used in self-cleaning windows, odour-free socks and stay-clean kitchen and bathroom tiles.

Initial efforts to extend its use to cotton fabrics proved limiting because the substance’s self-cleaning properties could only be “excited” under ultraviolet lights, making it impractical for everyday use.

via BBC News – Self-cleaning cotton nanoparticle coating invented.

‘Love Post’ tackles China’s rising divorce rate

I rather like this idea:

China’s post office is not normally a place you would associate with love.

But the state-run institution in Beijing is promoting a scheme which it hopes will stem the country’s rising number of divorces.

Newly-wed couples are being offered the chance to send sealed love letters which will be delivered seven years after their big day.

The idea is that couples thinking of splitting up will receive a timely reminder of why they got together in the first place.

It’s a good example of the sort of things Lauren and Hazel were talking about in their lectures. In fact, Lauren Currie developed something like this for an RSA brief back in 2008: Douceurs.

Small design interventions could have huge effects – if this service rekindles just one relationship, it’s a success. But maybe the act of writing the letters themselves makes a difference?

via BBC News – ‘Love Post’ tackles China’s rising divorce rate.