Titanium dioxide based nanotechnology for smart and functional coatings

 
Nano titanium dioxide produced from the sol-gel method forms an easy route to waterborne sols that can be directly applied as a coating following commonly used application methods. Coatings based on sol-gel prepared nano titanium dioxide were applied on to glass showing minimal effect on the transparency of the glass. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and AFM (Atomic force microscopy) showed that the coating had an open structure with a particle size of 16nm and an average rugosity of 29nm. These coatings are superhydrophilic upon light activation, which results in decreased water contact angle and demonstrate antistatic behaviour. Moreover, the coating was able to breakdown organic and inorganic matter according to ISO27442 and ISO1096-5 standards for the breakdown of these types of materials. In a real-life performance test coated solar panels were able to produce on average 1% more power.