Prof. John Xin, Acting Head of the Institute of Textiles and Clothing, PhD student Miss Kong Yee-yee, and Dr Liu Yuyang of the Stevens Institute of Technology in the US, have jointly discovered a new kind of fabric that can absorb water and perspiration on one side and transport it to the other side.

By coating the fabric on one side with nano titania, the researchers give the material photo-induced hydrophilicity which can be controlled by light. The fabric becomes hydrophobic in the dark. Under the light, water will be transported from the hydrophobic side (next to the skin) to the hydrophilic side and then evaporated rapidly. Details>>