Pomegranate peel helps remove toxic dye residues from water.
Now, a US research team has used non-toxic colour pigments to neutralise nerve gas and pesticides. The team’s synthetically manufactured allomelanin is a porous biopolymer.
When mixed with zirconium, harmful chemicals accumulate in the nanoparticles’ pores and are then destroyed. A chemical reaction that is triggered by water and a coating that creates a pH value of 10 on the nanoparticles’ surface.
The nanoparticles can be easily integrated into dyes for synthetic fibres. Protective clothing or respiratory masks made from these fibres need only be sprayed with water in emergencies. Sunlight also strengthens the reaction.
Other environmentally-friendly colourful textile fibres can be manufactured in a single process.
