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Low-friction coatings reduce microplastic release from textiles

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A durable, two-layer coating has been developed for nylon fabrics. The coating’s low coefficient of friction reduces the amount of microplastic fibres released from nylon fabrics during laundering by up to 93%. The coating’s efficacy, and other fabric properties, are maintained after at least nine laundering cycles.

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Fig. 1: PDMS brush–primer coatings reduce microplastic fibre shedding from nylon.

References

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This is a summary of: Lahiri, S. K. et al. Polydimethylsiloxane-coated textiles with minimized microplastic pollution. Nat. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01059-4 (2023).

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Low-friction coatings reduce microplastic release from textiles. Nat Sustain 6, 489–490 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01060-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01060-x

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