Wet and dry atmospheric deposition on TiO2 coated glass

To prevent the soiling of glass window used in the built environment, the use TiO2 coated products appears an important application matter. To test the cleaning efficiency and the sustainability of self-cleaning glass, a field experiment was conducted under real life condition, on a site representative of the background urban pollution. Samples of float glass, used as reference, and commercialized TiO2 coated glasses were exposed to dry and wet atmospheric deposition during two years. The crossed optical, chemical and microscopic evaluations performed, after withdrawal, allowed highlighting a sensible difference between the reference and the self-cleaning substrate in terms of accumulation, nature, abundance and geometry of the deposit. This experiment conducted in real site emphasized on the efficacy of self-cleaning glass to reduce the maintenance cost. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.