Black Silicon Slices and Dices Bacteria

Zothecula writes "Originally discovered by accident in the 1980s, black silicon is silicon with a surface that has been modified to feature nanoscale spike structures which give the material very low reflectivity. Researchers have now found that these spikes can also destroy a wide range of bacteria, potentially paving the way for a new generation of antibacterial surfaces."

Comments

Re:sounds like tiny little bacteria-stabbing spike

[femtobyte]

Soap also serves as a pretty good soap. I suspect the fine size scale of these structures, on a rigid silicon backing, would't be too good at reaching into very much of the rugged mountainous topography (on a bacteria's scale) of human skin.

Useless against biofilms

[nuggz]

Except this only works on the bacteria on contact.
Get a bit of slime and the surface never touches most of the bacteria.

Re:Radar

[c0lo]

Two processes are known (so far) for the production of black silicon: pick one.

Then, I'd suggest you research some methods to deal with the increase of temperature in your car, due to the absorbtion of light in the spectral range 350–1150 nm (near infrared to near UV) - you'll need to dissipate approx 1 kW for each square meter of absorbing surface