Millions of plastic microfibers are shed every time we wash clothes that contain materials such as nylon, polyester, and acrylic

Clothing made from a reversible fabric could warm or cool wearers and keep them comfortable, bringing down buildings’ energy costs

The approach could allow manufacturers of corn-derived plastic to continuously produce the biodegradable material on a scale that at least approaches petroleum-based plastic, the industry standard

"We have achieved 300-nanometer patterns, but we could easily make them as small as several tens of nanometers"

The new material is based on polymer hollow fibers treated to retain their structure—and pore sizes—as they are converted to carbon through pyrolysis