Chinese scientists have created a new type of smart window screen to capture smog, lowering the density of harmful fine particulate matter PM 2.5 indoors to a safe level within a minute.

The material was developed by a research team led by Yu Shuhong, a professor with the University of Science and Technology of China, and the study was recently published in the journal iScience.

The nanowire-nylon material has a PM 2.5 removal efficiency as high as 99.65 percent and can reduce its density from 248 to 32.9 micrograms per cubic meters, a safe level, in just 50 seconds, according to the research.

Meanwhile, the Ag-nylon mesh, coated with thermochromic dye, can adjust the indoor light intensity.

Compared with former smog-filtering window materials, this window screen is cheaper, reusable and easier to be manufactured in large quantities.

It requires only 100 yuan (around $15) and 20 minutes to fabricate a 7.5-square-meter Ag-nylon mesh. Users can clean the window screen by soaking it in ethanol for 20 minutes.