Ink-jet printing of micro-emulsion TiO2 nano-particles ink on the surface of glass

A self-cleaning ceramic ink that contains nano-titanium dioxide was formulated. The nano-titanium dioxide was generated through the micro-emulsion process. The physical properties such as surface tension and viscosity of the prepared ink were evaluated. The ink-jet printing was carried oat with an Epson Stylus Photo P50 printer on microscope glass slides. The print was set to 1, 3 and 5 runs in order to evaluate variations in wettability and resulting self-cleaning properties with varying thicknesses of the printed film. Following initial drying of the printed self-cleaning microscope glass slides; they were heat-treated at 400 degrees C. The SEM analysis and contact angle measurements of the printed microscope glass slides were carried out. The thicknesses of the raw printed self-cleaning ceramic inks were increased linearly with the number of printing runs. Ultimately, the results demonstrated that the direct ceramic ink-jet printing method can be used to produce a self-cleaning film on the glass. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.