Preparation and characterization of SiO2–TiO2 superhydrophilic coatings with photocatalytic activity induced by low temperature

The SiO 2 –TiO 2 superhydrophilic coatings with photocatalytic activity via heat curing over a low temperature of 100 ℃ were fabricated without a high-temperature calcination process. The effects of the composite ratio of SiO 2 and TiO 2 on the stability of the sols, different treatment processes on the crystalline morphology of TiO 2 , and different solid contents of the sols on the coating properties were investigated. The surface morphology, optical properties and mechanical properties of the coatings were characterised by a water contact angle (WCA) analyser, UV spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and multiple functional tests. The experimental results demonstrated that the SiO 2 –TiO 2 coating featuring both the intrinsic hydrophilicity of SiO 2 and photophilicity of TiO 2 had the WCA up to 3.5° and exhibited good photocatalytic, self-cleaning, anti-fogging, and mechanical properties.