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SELF-CLEANING COATING
US2020347246
A method for forming a self-cleaning coating, comprises providing a first dispersion comprising plasmonic nanoparticles by suspending plasmonic nanoparticles in an organic medium and providing a second dispersion comprising a precursor of a photocatalytic matrix in an organic medium. The method further comprises forming a mixture of the first and second dispersion and coating the mixture on a surface. The method also comprises calcining the coated mixture.
Plasmonic metal nanoparticles that efficiently interact with visible light are prepared with full control over the particle properties. Next, they are made compatible with a low-cost TiO2 sol-gel coating protocol, resulting in a one-pot coating suspension. After applying this suspension on a substrate followed by an annealing step, homogeneous and transparent thin films are obtained. Since the plasmonic effect is confined to the nanoparticles surface, embedment of such particles in the catalyst film ensures that the effect is fully exploited, as opposed to particles loosely deposited on the film surface. Cost-effectiveness analysis has shown that particle loadings as low as 1 wt% offer an economically attractive route to self-cleaning glass that outperforms commercially available benchmarks.
More information: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/research/info-for-companies/offer-for-companies/licence-offers/exact-sciences/self-cleaning-coatings/