Nanomaterials - Consulting and education |
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| Dieter Vollath |
Catalytic Properties of NanoparticlesPhotocatalytic cracking of organic compounds in combination with superhydrophobic ("Lotus-effect") or superhydrophilic properties leads to self-cleaning surfaces. However, superhydrophobic surface coating is - in most cases - made with additions of organic compounds. Therefore, one has to be careful in view of the long-time stability. Besides self-cleaning, photocatalytic cracking of organic molecules is often used for deodorising and disinfection. For these applications the following photocatalytic active particles are ion use: TiO2, Fe2O3, Fe2O3/Au, Ag More efficient and selective catalyst are obtained by decorating transition metal oxide nanoparticles with clusters of gold or platinum. 
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  Pt cluster on TiO2 nanoparticles. Micrograph taken from the paper: D. Vollath, D. V. Szabó, in: Innovative Processing of Films and Nanocrystalline Powders, Imperial Press, London (2002) p. 219 |