A new fabric that can selectively trap gases is being developed at Cornell University, in a breakthrough that promises to help protect soldiers and first responders from exposure to toxic chemicals. The garments use \u201cmetal organic framework molecules\u201d and cellulose fibers that were assembled in Fiber Science Professor Juan Hinestroza\u2019s lab to create the special cloth. Metal organic framework molecules, or MOFs, are clustered crystalline compounds that can be manipulated at the nanolevel \u2013 as small as one millionth of a millimeter \u2013 to create \u201ccages\u201d that are the exact same size as the gas they are trying to capture.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to harness the power of these molecules to absorb gases and incorporate these MOFs into fibers, which allows us to make very efficient filtration systems,\u201d Hinestroza said.<\/p>\n
Fiber Science postdoctoral researcher Marcia Da Silva Pinto first created MOF fabrics in Hinestroza\u2019s lab, working in collaboration with chemists from Professor Omar Yaghi\u2019s group at the University of California-Los Angeles. Hinestroza said Yaghi is one of the pioneers and leaders of MOF chemistry. At first the process did not work smoothly. \u201cThese crystalline molecules are like a powder that cannot easily become part of cloth,\u201d Da Silva Pinto said. After months of trying to attach the particles to the fiber, the researchers realized that, \u201cthe key was to bring the fiber to the particle. It was a real paradigm shift.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we can make large surfaces of fabric coated with MOFs,\u201d said Hinestroza. Some of the basic science behind this project was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. On the eve of Cornell\u2019s April 16 student-run fashion show \u2013 one of the largest of its kind on the nation \u2013 one of the student-designers from the show has fashioned a mask and hooded shirts inspired by the military.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Keane, a senior in fiber science and apparel design senior in Cornell\u2019s College of Human Ecology, worked with Hinestroza and Da Silva Pinto to create a gas-absorbing hood and mask. \u201cThis type of work would only be possible at a place like Cornell where you have this unique merging of disciplines, where a fashion designer can interact easily with a chemist or a materials scientist,\u201d Hinestroza said.<\/p>\n
\n
\n