Modified Cotton Fabric Which Can Capture Air Pollutants Developed by IIT Delhi

Researchers at IIT Delhi have developed a modified cotton fabric which can capture harmful air pollutants like particulate matter and other toxic compounds. This fabric is capable of absorbing these pollutants.  

ZIF-8@CM Cotton and ZIF-67@CM are Zeolite Imidazolate Framework (ZIF) – modified functionalized fabrics which can capture air pollutants like aniline, benzene, and styrene. The researchers who are behind this new fabric believe that the rising levels of pollutants in the air are a major concern. For people living in areas where air pollution levels are high, a long term exposure to these pollutants can result in diseases like asthma and infections.  

A report published by Livemint quoted Ashwini Agarwal from the Textile and Fibre Engineering Department, IIT Delhi. He revealed that the ZIF functionalised textiles carry a huge potential to be used as protective garments and also to control indoor air pollution. The fabrics developed by Agarwal and his team can be used as an upholstery for filtering those pollutants which cannot be filtered by common filtering mediums.

They can be used inside homes, offices, theatres, aeroplanes and other closed spaces and vehicles, Agarwal said.

Another positive aspect of the developed fabric is that it can be easily reused after being heated up at 120 degrees Celsius. The heating does not reduce that absorption capacity of the fabrics. Moreover, the fabrics can be used for long stretches of time as they are strong and can bear the wear and tear of constant use and washing.

A story published in Krishi Jagran had highlighted a report according to which Gurugram was the most polluted city in the world. The report had also listed several other cities in the list of the most polluted cities in the world.