Sol-Gel Coatings for Subaquatic Self-Cleaning Windows
| Autor: | David Moodie, Graham Kerr, Nikolaj Gadegaard, Andrew I. M. Greer |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
General Chemical Engineering
02 engineering and technology engineering.material Inorganic Chemistry 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine submarine Coating Self cleaning lcsh:QD901-999 sol-gel General Materials Science 030216 legal & forensic medicine oleophobic North sea Sol-gel Environmental engineering Contamination photocatalytic 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Condensed Matter Physics Crude oil engineering Environmental science lcsh:Crystallography 0210 nano-technology self-cleaning |
| Zdroj: | Crystals Volume 10 Issue 5 Crystals, Vol 10, Iss 375, p 375 (2020) |
| ISSN: | 2073-4352 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/cryst10050375 |
| Popis: | Self-cleaning windows are well known for their ability to function with airborne pollutants, but there is a growing industry for semi-permanent subaquatic optical devices, where the performance of such windows should be considered. Here sol-gel technology is explored as a means of producing self-cleaning, subaquatic, sapphire windows. We demonstrate removal of marine bacteria and, in the worst-case contamination scenario, dead North Sea crude oil (API 35). This greasy contaminant was smeared across the windows to effectively reduce optical transmission strength to just 54%. The titania-based sol-gel-coated windows can restore transmission to within 10% of the clean value in less than one day, unlike standard sapphire windows, which lose 68% transmission following contamination and aquatic submergence over the same duration. A range of theories to enhance the self-cleaning performance of the sol-gel coating were explored, but none of the tested variables were able to provide any enhancement for subaquatic performance. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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