Use diamonds in the wash for a sparkling finish, seriously
July 4th, 2012
A team of UK scientists have discovered that diamonds are a washing machine’s best friend.
The researches found that tiny diamonds are super effective at loosening oil and dirt from surfaces in cold water washes.
The discovery was made as part of a project called the ‘Cold Water Cleaning Initiative’. It is funded by scientists looking at how carbon (a form of diamond) can be used as a household cleaner for better efficiency.
This is what happens scientifically:
We prepare nanodiamond–surfactant colloids, measure their stability by dynamic light scattering and use quartz crystal microbalance–dissipation, a technique sensitive to surface mass, in order to compare their ability to remove surface–bound model triglyceride lipid with ionic and nonionic aqueous surfactants at 15–25 °C.
Translation:
The little gems work two times as well at loosening and removing oils and dirt like Spagetti Bolognese from shirts or grass stains from trousers in a wash using cold to room-temperature water.
Given the significant cost-related impediment to adding nanodiamonds to the average Joe’s supermarket laundry detergent, the scientists apparently have no plans of releasing a commercial product.
For science’s sake, however, they will continue their research into how carbon can be used in household cleaning products
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