Development of nanocellulose-titanium dioxide-(3-aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (NCC-TiO2-APTMS) particles and their application in superhydrophilic self-cleaning coatings

Self-cleaning coatings are becoming an integral part of our daily life because of their utility in various applications. These coatings using nanoscale materials have received significant attention due to the importance of their potential. In the current research work, smart coating with self-cleaning, superhydrophilic application was prepared based on commercial grade water-based acrylic emulsion using nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), nano-TiO2 (NT), and 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane (APTMS) composite in the current work. The sonication process achieved the adsorption of NT on NCC, which was further grafted with APTMS via hydrolysis. The primary confirmation of the chemical structures was done by FTIR spectroscopy, the determination of particle size was done by dynamic light scattering (DLS), morphology and elemental analysis by SEM-EDX, and crystallinity by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The coating was prepared by dispersing synthesized material in a commercial acrylic emulsion and characterized for mechanical, thermal, surface, and self-cleaning properties. The wettability of the as-prepared coating was analyzed by contact angle measurement. The coating with optimized formulation showed a water contact angle near 6 degrees after photocatalytic activity, which confirms the excellent superhydrophilicity of the coating. Also, removing dust contaminants from the coating surface after water action indicates superior self-cleaning properties. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

The study prepared a smart coating with self-cleaning and superhydrophilic properties, characterized the coating comprehensively by analyzing chemical structure, particle size, morphology, elemental analysis, and crystallinity, and analyzed its wettability through contact angle measurement. The optimized formulation of the coating showed excellent superhydrophilicity and superior self-cleaning properties after photocatalytic activity.