Development of Thick Superhydrophilic TiO2-ZrO2 Transparent Coatings Realized through the Inclusion of Poly(methyl methacrylate) and Pluronic-F127

Sanu M Simon; Anoop Chandran; Gejo George; M S Sajna; Prakashan Valparambil; Eric Kumi-Barmiah; Gin Jose; P R Biju; Cyriac Joseph; N V Unnikrishnan

doi:10.1021/acsomega.8b01940

Development of Thick Superhydrophilic TiO₂-ZrO₂ Transparent Coatings Realized through the Inclusion of Poly(methyl methacrylate) and Pluronic-F127

ACS Omega. 2018 Nov 6;3(11):14924-14932. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.8b01940. eCollection 2018 Nov 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Pure & Applied Physics, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam 686 560, Kerala, India.
² Department of Physics, St. Cyril's College, Adoor 691 529, Kerala, India.
³ School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.

Abstract

A thick coating of hierarchically porous double-templated TiO₂-ZrO₂-PMMA-PF127 with excellent self-cleaning properties and high transmittance has been developed for the first time on glass substrates using a simple dip-coating technique. Comparative studies of this sample with a thick and transparent coating of single-templated TiO₂-ZrO₂-PMMA have been performed to probe the origin of its exceptional properties. The formation of the composites, successful incorporation of the polymer into the matrix, and the porous nature of the films have been studied. The presence of Ti²⁺ in the double-templated samples has been confirmed, which suggest the chemisorption of water on the surface of the film. The variation in the self-cleaning properties of the samples on UV-illumination has also been studied. The double-templated film is found to possess the capability of good hydrophilic retention even 2 days after UV-irradiation.