Finally! A self-cleaning toilet (thanks to nanotechnology)

Filed in archive Products on June 21, 2006

Soon, you should be able to throw out your toilet brush and clean your toilet with the flip of a switch, according to a new Popular Science article.

The switch would activate titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the toilet's surface, a technology already used to clean building facades like those of the Dives in Misericordia Church in Rome and the Marunouchi Building in Tokyo. It's also seen in self-cleaning windows like SunClean windows from PPG Industries and Activ windows by Pilkington.

But these outdoor applications rely on ultraviolet rays from the sun to activate their surfaces. Michael Cortie and his colleagues at the Institute for Nanoscale Technology in Sydney, Australia, however, are working to make the titanium dioxide nanoparticles respond to the light from indoor fixtures as well.

How does it work? When light rays strike the nanoparticles, they react with air and water vapor to speed the breakdown of organic compounds (like dirt).

Cortie and his colleagues are confident they can tweak the nanoparticles to react to indoor light, eventually leading to a whole range of self-cleaning products for inside the home.

"Just look at the range of antibacterial sprays and wipes out there," he says. "People are demons for cleanliness. If it's a product that doesn't need to be sprayed-that's just always there-even better." (photo Benedict Campbell / Popular Science)