Fabric treated with CatClo to purify the air

Professor Helen Storey, added: “When Science and Culture work together in this way, it becomes possible to involve the intended end user in the early stages of the development of the technology. This in itself is still a relatively new concept. **Through the making of a short viral film about CatClo, we were able to reach an audience of over one million people, from across 147 countries, engaging the public in the normally hidden research process. The direct feedback and enthusiasm we received revealed a massive market for this product from potential consumers who understand the concept behind it.”

 

An additive created in a unique collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the London College of Fashion which can be washed into clothes #

“We’re now working closely with a manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning products to commercialise our laundry additive,” says Professor Ryan. “We believe that using the additive in a final rinse with a full washing load could potentially cost as little as 10 pence – a small price to pay for the knowledge that you’re doing something tangible to tackle air pollution and increase the life expectancy of people with respiratory conditions. We’re confident there’s a really big market out there for this product.”

 

An additive created in a unique collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the London College of Fashion which can be washed into clothes #

Additional information

The new additive was initially developed as part of the 18-month ‘Extreme collaboration delivering solutions for a failing world’ initiative which received total EPSRC funding of £202,000.

 

An additive created in a unique collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the London College of Fashion which can be washed into clothes #

A nanoparticle is a particle with at least one dimension less than 100 nanometres (One nanometre is a billionth of a metre).

 

An additive created in a unique collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the London College of Fashion which can be washed into clothes #

This summer, the capabilities of this ingenious additive were demonstrated at New York’s Museum of Modern Art on ‘WENDY’, a 14-metre high, spiky-armed experimental construction. The nylon fabric covering WENDY was sprayed with the additive and, over a 10-week period, removed nitrogen oxides from the air equivalent to the amount produced by around 260 cars.