Graphene finds new application as anti-static hair dye.
New formula works as well as commercial permanent dyes without chemically altering hairs.
머릿결 손상 없이 염색이 가능한 ‘그래핀 염색약’이 개발됐다. 아름다운 색감은 물론, 머리카락이 일종의 전자기기 역할도 할 수 있다
📷 Chem,Jiaxing Huang : Blonde hair, before and after being treated with the dye
(the molecular structure of graphene is shown at right)
Graphene, the "dream material" composed of one-atom-thick sheets of linked carbon atoms, now has yet another potential application. Led by Prof. Jiaxing Huang at Illinois' Northwestern University, scientists have used it to create a hair dye that's far less harmful than regular dyes.Ordinarily, hair dyes incorporate harsh chemicals such as ammonia and bleach. These are used to pry open the overlapping scales that make up each hair's outer coating, known as the cuticle. Once those scales are opened, colorant molecules from the dye are able to enter the hair, chemically-altering it so that it changes color.
Needless to say, having their cuticles repeatedly pried open makes hairs fragile. The colorant molecules can also be very toxic and because they're so small, it's possible for them to pass through the skin and enter the body, causing adverse reactions.
Graphene, on the other hand, is non-toxic and chemically inert. Huang's dye incorporates tiny sheets of the material, which wrap themselves around the individual hairs to create an even coating that gives those hairs the natural color of the graphene (different shades of black and brown are currently possible). Non-toxic polymer binders in the dye keep those sheets sticking to the hairs for at least 30 washes, preventing the color from fading.
Not only are the graphene sheets non-toxic, but because they're much larger than the colorant molecules used in regular dyes, there's no chance of them passing through the skin. Additionally, because graphene has anti-static qualities, the dye should prevent flyaway hair. And as an added bonus, the process of applying the dye to the hair and then drying it reportedly takes less than 10 minutes.
The cost of the dye shouldn't be a huge issue, as it utilizes an inexpensive imperfect type of graphene known as graphene oxide. And because graphene is electrically conductive, other possibilities present themselves.
"People could apply this dye to make hair conductive on the surface," says Huang. "It could then be integrated with wearable electronics or become a conductive probe. We are only limited by our imagination."
A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Chem.
황 자싱 미국 노스웨스턴대 재료과학과 교수팀은 그래핀을 이용해 무독성이며 모발 손상이 없고 색이 오래 유지되는 새로운 염색약을 개발했다고 국제학술지 ‘켐(Chem)’ 3월 15일자에 발표했다. 그래핀은 탄소 원자들이 벌집 모양으로 연결돼 평면을 이루는 물질로 강철보다 200배 이상 강하면서도 가볍고 전기전도도와 투과도, 열전도성까지 갖춰 일명 ‘꿈의 신소재’로 불린다.
그래핀 염색약은 식용 무독성 접착제를 이용해 그래핀을 모발 표면에 균일하게 감싸는 방식으로 염색한다. 암모니아나 표백제 등 유독성 물질을 사용하지 않아 모발 손상이 없다. 또 30번 이상 세척해도 색이 유지돼 영구 염색약 기준도 충족한다.
황 자싱 교수는 “그래핀은 가볍고 유연하기 때문에 기존의 일회성 염색약과 달리 색이 오래 간다”고 설명했다. 또한 그는 “그래핀이 전도성을 지니고 있어 정전기 발생을 방지하는 만큼 앞으로 웨어러블 기기에 응용할 수 있다”고 덧붙였다.
📝 Story Source: Northwestern University
📚 Reference
📝 Story Source: Northwestern University
📚 Reference
https://www.cell.com/chem/fulltext/S2451-9294(18)30082-2
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2018/march/graphene-finds-new-application-as-non-toxic-anti-static-hair-dye/
https://blog.naver.com/krictblog/221188760020
Comments