Cotton impregnated with silver nanowires and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could provide a cheap and effective method of purifying water in remote locations.

A new filter needs only gravity and a weak electric current to produce its sterilizing effect, making it suitable for a portable water-treatment device.

The fabric is easy to produce, says lead researcher Yi Cui at Stanford University in California. Cui’s team simply dip a piece of cotton into a solution of CNTs and then pipette droplets containing silver nanowires onto the cotton.

Analyzing the fabric with a scanning electron microscope reveals that the CNTs stick to the individual cotton fibers, while the slightly larger silver nanowires form a mesh between the fibers. The nanoparticles enable the fabric to conduct electricity, so a weak electric current can run across it. This helps kill bacteria by damaging their outer membranes, while the silver nanowires’ anti-bacterial properties do the rest.

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