RE: Graphene Clothing Hits The Market In China
Great post!
Disclaimer: I am a nanoscience major who has had hands-on experience with graphene and other nanoscale materials.
Most of the graphene fibers on the market today are pretty bogus - there is very promising work in this area though.
I am a bit worried about using some of these nano-materials in clothes. There is very little study on how these particles bioaccumulate and if they are safe to be keeping so close to your body. There are similar issues with things like silver nanoparticle infused socks so they don't smell. They might have some nice anti-microbial properties but their interaction in the human body is not fully understood.
These products are on the nanoscale. Each fiber or particle is on the order of a few nanometers. About 10 atoms make up a single nanometer. These materials are only hundreds of atoms across; orders of magnitude smaller than things like cells and bacteria.
It will be interesting seeing how these ultra-strong fibers will be used in the future. The least interesting one will be clothing.
I sell foot related products and one of the top covers we use is silver infused neoprene. Been using it for years. I think silver is safe even inside the body.
Yeah it might be, who knows if there really is silver nanoparticles there in the first place. Not much regulation there.
Many of the interactions between AgNPs and the human body are very poorly understood. AgNPs are generally regarded as quite safe around the human body but we do not know about long term issues. While they may be safe around humans, they have been known to wash out of clothing items very quickly and end up in the water supply. The effects and bioremediation are unknown.
AgNPs can be toxic to wildlife and introducing them into the environment should be done with caution.
Sounds like Asbestos part II! Good insite Kyle.