Nanotechnology and Fashion
Nanotechnology and fashion 09/13/2007 12:29 AM
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May 1, 2007
Student designer and fiber scientists create a dress that Cornell Chronicle:
prevents colds and a jacket that destroys noxious gases Anne Ju
(607) 255-9735
By Anne Ju amj8@cornell.edu
Fashion designers and Media Contact:
fiber scientists at Cornell
have taken "functional Nicola Pytell
(607) 254-6236
clothing" to a whole new nwp2@cornell.edu
level. They have
designed a garment that Related
can prevent colds and Information:
flu and never needs Hinestroza
washing, and another Research Group
that destroys harmful
gases and protects the Fiber Science &
Apparel Design
wearer from smog and
air pollution.
The two-toned gold
dress and metallic
denim jacket, featured at
Anne Ju/Cornell Chronicle
the April 21 Cornell
Design student Olivia Ong '07 hugs two garments, treated
Design League fashion with metallic nanoparticles through a collaboration with
show, contain cotton fiber scientists Juan Hinestroza and Hong Dong, that she
fabrics coated with designed as part of her fashion line, "Glitterati."
nanoparticles that give them functional qualities never before seen in the fashion world.
Designed by Olivia Ong '07 in the College of Human Ecology's Department of Fiber
Science and Apparel Design, the garments were infused with their unusual qualities by
fiber science assistant professor Juan Hinestroza and his postdoctoral researcher Hong
Dong. Apparel design assistant professor Van Dyke Lewis launched the collaboration by
introducing Ong to Hinestroza several months ago.
"We think this is one of the first times that
nanotechnology has entered the fashion
world," Hinestroza said. He noted one
drawback may be the garments' price: one
square yard of nano-treated cotton would
cost about $10,000.
Ong's dress and jacket, part of her original
fashion line called "Glitterati," look
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Nanotechnology and fashion 09/13/2007 12:29 AM
innocently hip. But closer inspection -- with
a microscope, that is -- shows an army of
electrostatically charged nanoparticles
creating a protective shield around the
cotton fibers in the top part of the dress,
and the sleeves, hood and pockets of the
jacket.
"It's something really moving toward the
future, and really advanced," said Ong,
who graduates in December and aspires to
design school. "I thought this could
potentially be what fashion is moving
toward."
(c) Michael Grace-Martin
Nicole Grospe '07, left, and Andrea Clark Dong explained that the fabrics were
'07 model clothing designed by Olivia Ong created by dipping them in solutions
'07, at the Cornell Design League fashion
show. The dress and jacket contain containing nanoparticles synthesized in
nanoparticles with antibacterial and air- Hinestroza's lab. The resultant colors are
purifying qualities. not the product of dyes, but rather,
reflections of manipulation of particle size or arrangement.
The upper portion of the dress contains cotton coated with silver nanoparticles. Dong first
created positively charged cotton fibers using ammonium- and epoxy-based reactions,
inducing positive ionization. The silver particles, about 10-20 nanometers across (a
nanometer is one-billionth of a meter) were synthesized in citric acid, which prevented
nanoparticle agglomeration.
Dipping the positively charged cotton into the
negatively charged silver nanoparticle solution
resulted in the particles clinging to the cotton fibers.
Silver possesses natural antibacterial qualities that
are strengthened at the nanoscale, thus giving Ong's
dress the ability to deactivate many harmful bacteria
and viruses. The silver infusion also reduces the need
to wash the garment, since it destroys bacteria, and
the small size of the particles prevents soiling and
stains. Hong Dong/Provided
A scanning electron
microscope image shows a
The denim jacket includes a hood, sleeves and cotton fiber with palladium
pockets with soft, gray tweed cotton embedded with nanoparticle coating.
palladium nanoparticles, about 5-10 nanometers in
length. To create the material, Dong placed negatively
charged palladium crystals onto positively charged
cotton fibers.
Ong, though strictly a designer, was drawn especially
to the science behind creating the anti-smog jacket.
"I thought it would be cool if [wearers] could wipe their
hands on their sleeves or pockets," Ong said.
Ong incorporated the resultant cotton fiber into a Anne Ju/Cornell Chronicle
jacket with the ability to oxidize smog. Such properties Assistant professor Juan
Hinestroza and postdoctoral
would be useful for someone with allergies, or for researcher Hong Dong, in their
protecting themselves from harmful gases in the Martha Van Rensselaer Hall lab.
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Nanotechnology and fashion 09/13/2007 12:29 AM
contaminated air, such as in a crowded or polluted
city.
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