Self-Cleaning Coatings

Research and Practice of Colloids in Self-Cleaning Coatings

Colloidal particles and nano- and micro-scale colloidal control technologies are of great significance in the preparation of self-cleaning coatings. Various colloidal particle-based surface fabrication and modification techniques can be used to produce self-cleaning coatings, such as hydrothermal techniques, electrochemical deposition, photolithography, etching, self-assembly, electrospinning, sol-gel, dip coating, and spray coating Wait. The study found that a superhydrophobic coating composed of colloidal silica and fluoroalkyl silane can be prepared by the sol-gel method, and the surface energy and roughness of the coating are controlled by the content of colloidal silica and fluoroalkyl silane. . Dip-coating techniques can be used to produce bilayer coatings with a mesoporous SiO₂ layer and a dense/mesoporous TiO₂ layer. The coating has both anti-reflection and self-cleaning properties.

Fig.1 A superhydrophobic surface produced by a sol–gel method. The image on the right is the AFM image of a sol–gel film containing 30 wt% colloidal silica.^[1]

Fig.2 (a) An AFM top view image of a mesoporous SiO₂ coating. (b) An AFM top view image of a mesoporous TiO₂ coating.^[1]

At Alfa Chemistry, we have a wide range of self-cleaning coating preparation methods, specializing in the manufacture of high-quality colloidal self-cleaning coatings by improving traditional synthetic methods. We can broaden their application in various fields by improving the performance of self-cleaning coatings. With a high degree of compatibility with contemporary micro- or nano-fabrication, Alfa Chemistry continues to develop methods that are less time-consuming and more controllable, working towards the eventual mass production of low-cost practical devices.

What Can We Do?

• Alfa Chemistry can provide colloidal products and preparation methods for self-cleaning coating applications.
• Alfa Chemistry can provide effective evaluation methods for the practical application of self-cleaning coatings, including standardized evaluations such as mechanical strength and durability.
• Alfa Chemistry provides solution strategies for the design and optimization of self-cleaning coatings for different applications by communicating their needs with customers.

References

1. Ganesh V A, et al. A review on self-cleaning coatings. Journal of Materials Chemistry. 2012, 21(41).
2. Bai Y, et al. Recent Progresses of Superhydrophobic Coatings in Different Application Fields: An Overview. Coatings. 2021, 11(2):116.

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