New type of light emitting textiles developed

With interest growing in eco-friendly home deco (such as the fashion for plants with depolluting properties), new type of light emitting textile that could absorb the pollution in our homes has been developed by a team of researchers at the CNRS research center in French city of Lyon. This new type of textile could find a place in sofas, cushions, curtains, blankets, etc. of our home.

The original idea is to seamlessly integrate optical fibers, in the form of LEDs, into fabric without using an external lamp. A photocatalyst — a mixture of titanium dioxide and various solvents — is soaked into the textile and activated by light.

This innovative technology is based on a chemical reaction called photocatalysis, which was discovered in the 1990s. This process enables pollutants to be neutralized using light. The construction sector already uses it in self-cleaning paint and concrete.

This chemical process, which is an industrial secret, has been developed in the Brochier Technologies Research & Development lab in Villeurbanne, France. One of Brochier Technologies’ core businesses is to develop optic fiber weaving solutions for applications in the lighting, communication, security, depollution and medical spheres.

The researchers are still studying the textile’s effectiveness on different types of pollutant such as fine particles. In the industrial field, the invention is currently being tested onsite as a means of removing residual pharmaceutical and pesticide molecules found in water to prevent them from being discharged into the environment.

With the international climate change conference underway in Paris, this discovery by a CNRS research team in Lyon could be a big step forward for the quality of our environment by removing certain pollutants from homes and, on a global level, by removing pollution from the air and water and neutralizing odors, particularly in industry.