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Self-Cleaning Glass

Posted by michael on from the sale-on-windex-purely-coincidental dept.

Chris writes "Consumers across Europe can now purchase self-cleaning glass that promises to keep windows free from dirt. The key to Activ glass is an ultra-thin coating only 40nm thick applied to the glass surface during the manufacturing process. The coating, which is based on titanium dioxide, works by combining the two beneficial effects. First, the ultraviolet wavelengths in sunlight react with a photocatalyst to break down organic debris on the glass. The second feature is that the coating is hydrophilic, meaning that when rain hits the glass, it doesn't form droplets. Rain water flows down the glass in a sheet and washes the dirt away."

7 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. Nope, hydrophilic it is by David+Ziegler · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, I'm pretty sure that it is hydrophilic. Hydrophobic means it repels water, which would cause the water to form droplets, in order to reduce the surface area. Since it's hydrophilic, the water is attracted to the coating, which makes the water sheet.

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    -David Ziegler
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  2. Re:HydroPHOBIC methinks. by zeus_tfc · · Score: 5, Informative

    That would be a hydrophobic coating. Hydrophilic attracts moisture.

    You're on the right track, but reaching the wrong conclusion. A hydrophobic material would cause water to bead up on the surface, as the adhesiveness of the material would be much less than the cohesiveness of the water. This is a hydrophilic material, at least in a sense, because the water adheres to the surface so well that it counters the cohesiveness of the water. I say in a sense, because I think a hydrophilic material usually absorbs water.

    Of course, I could be totally off.

    --
    "...At the end of the day"..."when everyone goes home, you're stuck with yourself." RIP Layne Staley
  3. Re:self cleaning...Solar cells! by Ford+Fulkerson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yeah, if the mars rover would be covered with organic debris. I think that would be bigger news than self cleaning glass though.

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    Somewhere in the heavens... they are waiting.
  4. This has been available in the US for years... by bad-badtz-maru · · Score: 5, Informative


    PPG is one of the largest manufacturers of residential windows and they have produced windows using the self-cleaning coating for several years now.

    http://www.ppg.com/gls_sunclean/

    maru

  5. Its quite widespread already by sh0rtie · · Score: 5, Informative


    According to Google there are over 1500 references to self cleaning glass, quite a few manufacters are already selling it, Pilkinton (uk glass company) and Sunclean seem to be the market leaders though Pilkington seem to claim "the worlds first". The BBC reported this technology in 2001, in 2002 Saint-Gobain Glass won a Siemens Award for innovation for their version

    http://www.ppgsunclean.com/
    http://www.activglass.com/
    http://www.afgglass.com
    http://www.saint-gobain-glass.com

  6. Re:Self-Cleaning Dishes by gowen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Glass pants? I can clearly see your nuts...

    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  7. Re:self cleaning...Solar cells! by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Actually, this makes more sense for solar cells here on earth. People think that power generation with solar cells is free after you set them up, because they have no moving parts, etc. Actually though, it turns out that the most important reason why solar power is expensive in the long run is because somebody needs to periodically clean the damn solar cells. You might not think this is a big deal but when you consider the surface area of solar cells you would need to generate enough electricity to power a city, it really does become daunting.

    With this coating, maybe we could just plug 'em in and leave 'em alone. Well, that would be awesome--though I still think it wouldn't solve all the problems, and that the best way to go solar is to build collectors in space.