For decades, TiO2 was only known to exhibit photocatalytic properties in the presence of ultraviolet light.

FORBES: Nanotechnology May Lead To The End Of Laundry

But recently, it was shown that spiking TiO2 with nitrogen ions gives it photocatalytic capabilities in UV light and visible light.

FORBES: Nanotechnology May Lead To The End Of Laundry

By coating their fabric with nano particles made from this new N-TiO2, the researchers have created a fabric that self-cleans in the presence of a very broad spectrum of light.

FORBES: Nanotechnology May Lead To The End Of Laundry

The TiO2 mixture was sprayed on 26, 000 feet of blue fabric, and HWKN principal Matthias Hollwich figures that by Sept. 8, when it's disassembled, "Wendy" will have digested the smog coughed up by the equivalent of 260 cars.

WSJ: Turning Up the Volume in Public | By Julie V. Iovine