Prepare to die, E. coli (Image: Linda Stannard/UCT/SPL)
COTTON impregnated with silver nanowires and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could provide a cheap and effective method of purifying water in remote locations.
A new filter needs only gravity and a weak electric current to produce its sterilising effect, making it suitable for a portable water-treatment device.
The fabric is easy to produce, says lead researcher Yi Cui at Stanford University in California. Cui’s team simply dip a piece of cotton into a solution of CNTs and then pipette droplets containing silver nanowires onto the cotton.
Analysing the fabric with a scanning electron…
