Intergrated flexible nanotechnology for photonic fabrics

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An estimated one-third of the world's population does not have access to clean drinking water, resulting in diseases that kill roughly five million people each year, while an estimated 60 million children are affected by stunted growth due to recurring illness originating from contaminated drinking water. Chemical treatment and ultra-violet (UV) radiation are the two mainstream approaches for water purification. The former approach leaves chemical by-products while the latter typically employs bulky low-efficiency mercury (Hg) lamps, which has low disinfecting capacity over a wide range of microorganisms. The use of UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is an emerging approach that eliminates many of these issues by providing an antimicrobial agent that has low voltage and power requirements, higher efficiency, longer lifetimes, and little to no chemical by-products. Current state-of-the-art UV LEDs suffer from low-light output that limits its efficacy compared to conventional Hg lamps. In this strategic project, we propose to develop high-power LEDs having > 50mW light output at 280 nm embedded in filter material. This photonic fabric takes advantage of integrated LED textiles, enabling an efficient UV water purification systems with 3× more light penetration in water, 10× reduction in power requirements, and nearly 100% microorganism and contaminant removal compared to conventional external lamp systems. In addition, we propose to integrate Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles that will be embedded into the photonic fabric. These nanoparticles will further improve contaminant removal through a photo catalysis process activated by the UV LEDs, providing enhanced performance in turbid water conditions. This strategic project will be vital for Canada to secure new innovations and establish leadership in integrated UV-emitting smart textiles for environmentally friendly water treatment technologies.