Fatty acids, which are harmful to people, present in the emissions from cooking, settle on the windows.
Scientists from the University of Birmingham have called for washing dirty windows. They argue that windows can contain toxic contaminants and hide potentially harmful contaminants behind a protective film of fatty acids from food preparations that can persist for long periods of time. Scitech Daily writes about it.
It is noted that the fatty acids present in cooking emissions are extremely stable and difficult to break down in the atmosphere. And when they hit a hard surface like a window, they create a thin, self-organizing film that slowly builds up and is only gradually broken down by other chemicals in the atmosphere.
In this way, the film will be rougher and release more water due to the humidity of the air. In addition, harmful contaminants can enter the elastic crust, where they are protected from environmental degradation.
“The fatty acids in these films aren’t particularly harmful on their own, but because they don’t break down, they effectively protect any other contaminants that might be trapped underneath,” said senior author Dr. Christian Pfrang.
During the study, the team worked with laboratory “proxy” samples of material designed in the lab to approximate “real world” samples. These are spun into ultra-thin films of pollution that are only a few tens of nanometers thick.
The researchers used both neutrons and X-rays to study the nanoscale composition of the films and changes in their surface structures. They change the humidity and the amount of ozone, a major indoor and outdoor pollutant.
As a result, it was found that the self-organized structure within the films in the form of repeated molecular layers – the so-called lamellar phase – makes it difficult for smaller molecules, such as ozone, to access the reactive parts of the fatty acid. within these structures.
Recall that Samsung introduced a “smart” SunnySide window, which looks like a regular window frame with glass, but actually has an imitation of sunlight.
Chinese scientists have created a smart window
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Source: korrespondent
