New Nano Tec' Hydrophillic Window Coatings

A nanoparticle-based coating from ARS, applied to the right half of this plastic container, prevents water from beading and reducing visibility.

Nanoparticle based coating helps stop water from beading: When rain falls on a glass window or a plastic skylight cover, it often forms beads. That's because these surfaces typically are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. But a transparent, nanoparticle-based coating developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists can quickly change surfaces from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, so that rain doesn't bead up, and your visibility isn't impaired.

When raindrops come in contact with the spray-on coating, they spread, instead of beading, explains chemist Sanghoon Kim, who headed the nanoparticle studies. Besides its potential use on windows, the coating might also be applied to solar panels, to help keep dirt from interfering with their performance. What's more, Kim and colleagues have observed that the coating works well on other materials, including Plexiglas and metals such as stainless steel.

Kim, chemist Atanu Biswas, and physical scientist Kervin Evans—all at the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois—created the coating's nanoparticles using only a few off-the-shelf laboratory chemicals, including an ag-sourced protein. From start to finish, production of the nanoparticles takes less than an hour, involves simple procedures with inexpensive chemicals, and doesn't require specialized equipment or costly heating.

In a proof-of-concept experiment, the researchers used bovine serum albumin as their protein and ethyl cyanoacrylate as the starting material that's key to creating the nanoparticles. Bovine serum albumin is a cattle industry coproduct. Ethyl cyanoacrylate is a major component of what's commonly known as "super glue." Simply stated, the nanoparticles were formed when ethyl cyanoacrylate reacted with bovine serum albumin in a solution of acidified ethanol. Spinning this mixture in a centrifuge removed any byproducts of the reaction, resulting in nanoparticles suspended in the solution.

Applying the coating is quick and easy. All that's needed is to spray it onto clean glass or other recommended surface, then rinse with water. Kim, Biswas, and Evans documented their results in a peer-reviewed scientific article published in 2013 in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.

In a followup study, Kim and colleague Yeon Seok Kim, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, used gliadin—a protein from wheat—to demonstrate that their process is applicable to both plant- and animal-derived proteins. An article published this year in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research has details.

Typically, plant proteins are less expensive than those from animal sources. Regardless of which agricultural source is chosen, informal cost estimates suggest that the new coating could be made at the same or less cost than hydrophilic coatings already on the market.

The fact that the Peoria coating is rain-ready in about a minute apparently makes it unique. ARS is seeking a patent for the research, and the scientists are looking for industry partners, such as manufacturers of window cleaning products, to commercialize the invention.

The uncoated section (left) of a glass slide is peppered with water droplets whereas the coated section (right) has a thin film of water that makes the glass clear.

Scientists create clearer glass with permanent, superhydrophilic ceramic coating: When it comes to fogged up glassware or windows, the best way to keep a clear view seems to be by wiping the water droplets away constantly or having coatings that prevent the water from sticking to the glass. However, scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) have discovered that doing just the opposite - collecting the water to create a uniform, thin, transparent layer - actually helps produce a better, clearer view.

IMRE has invented a new technology, CleanClear, which is a durable and permanent ceramic coating that is transparent and superhydrophilic, which means it attracts water instead of repelling it. This creates a layer of water that prevents fogging on glass or plastic surfaces, and keeps surfaces cleaner for a longer period of time. Water-forming coatings create an additional uniform water layer to produce a better view as opposed to water-repelling technologies that form water droplets which impair vision.

Reduced visibility from fogged up glass or plastic surfaces is a common problem in wet or humid environments, and affects a multitude of products such as car windshields, spectacles, goggles, and even covers for cookware. The majority of solutions rely on water-repelling coatings. Unfortunately, current coatings are not durable and most have to be re-applied regularly.

How the technology works:

The new patented technology from A*STAR's IMRE is a one-time ceramic coating that can be applied onto glass or plastic materials at processing temperatures below 100oC. This is important as it makes the coating process simpler and ultimately, more cost-effective. Currently, commonly used chemical coatings degrade easily with continued usage and have to be re-applied. IMRE's new ceramic coating is durable, permanent and only needs to be applied once. Although there are also other similar "water-loving" coatings, these are often processed at much higher temperatures and can only be activated by ultraviolet (UV) rays or sunlight.

Large multinational companies also use alternative coatings like titanium dioxide (TiO2) to produce self-cleaning glass surfaces that prevent dirt and dust from sticking. However, the TiO2 ceramic coats can only be applied on surfaces during the manufacturing process at temperatures above 600oC. This limits their application to hard materials like glass. CleanClear can be adapted to multiple surfaces and materials, ranging from glass to plastics. TiO2 coatings are also activated by sunlight but IMRE's new coating does not require activation and continues to function even at night and in low-light, indoor environments.

There are many useful applications for IMRE's "water-loving" surface. For example, it can be applied on car windshields, mirrors and motorcycle visors, allowing for better visibility in the rain. Coating building exteriors with this new material allows for self-cleaning during rain. Due to its adaptability for application on various surfaces besides glass, this could also result in potential cost savings. CleanClear can also be applied to consumer products to reduce condensation on glass covers for pots, food containers and hot food displays.

"Conventional technologies mainly use organic-based materials and some with nanoparticles but these don't last long, and need to be re-coated from time to time. The CleanClear process makes the coating part of the surface – permanently," said Dr Gregory Goh, the lead scientist from IMRE who developed the technology last year.

"CleanClear could be used to help create a sort of a clear 'vision shield' for today's car windshields during heavy rain," added Dr Goh. "Or we could use it to replace current daytime, UV light activated coatings with an all-day, all-night CleanClear coat on building facades to keep glass cleaner."

TiO2 The Revolutionary New Coating

Why is this new coating so beneficial for window cleaners? It leaves a hydrophillic coating - therefore sheeting when using a water fed pole that will give better results opposed to the generic applications now that make windows hydrophobic. Self-cleaning glass is already available by several window manufacturers. It significantly reduces the need to clean the glass; titanium dioxide is the active ingredient. Titanium Dioxide has been used for over 50 years in many consumer applications such as cosmetics, sun tan lotions, toothpaste, cake icing, paints, and more. Today, by scientifically suspending these nano-sized, crystallized, titanium dioxide particles in water it has made TiO2 commercially viable for all types of surfaces both natural and artificial.

What is titanium dioxide? What is a photo catalyst?
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an anti-microbial metal created by a process which crystallizes titanic iron ore into a nano liquid form. When exposed to UV light in the sub 400 range, TiO2 becomes a photo catalyst oxidizer (PCO) as well which creates hydroxyl radicals and superoxide ions which are two times stronger disinfectants than chlorine and 1.5 times stronger a disinfectant than ozone. TiO2 is safe and widely used in many household products such as toothpaste, food, and teeth whitening solutions. The advent of nano technology, in other words making tiny particles out of metals that can penetrate most surfaces, has lead to several Japanese patents utilizing this nano TiO-2 photocatalytic solution which has many wide ranging applications and has experienced years of successful use in the Japanese marketplace. For instance the government uses this solution in some public bathrooms to keep them smelling fresh and more importantly maintenance free. TiO2 coatings are applied to some highway guard rails to keep them looking new amidst constant bombardment from hydrocarbons and VOC's from vehicle exhaust. The outside of some Japanese high rises are treated with TiO2 solution to make the glass and metal maintenance free, no more need to clean the windows, they resist water and grime. TiO2 coatings are also widely used in the healthcare, food, janitorial, auto, and construction business. Many homeowners treat their mini-blinds, windows, furniture, bathrooms, showers, carpets, flooring, etc with similar TiO2 solutions to reap the benefits of VOC free, clean, fresh indoor air on top of the huge benefit of maintenance free surfaces. When microorganisms, smog, viruses, VOC, or any organic material comes in contact with the TiO2 treated surface, it also becomes oxidized. Even fabrics treated with this revolutionary substance will not retain odors. Car interiors treated with Nano TiO2, even when submitted to second hand smoke from several people for prolonged periods of time, will not retain any tobacco odor.

Are TiO2 coating harmless to humans? Nano TiO2 liquid is completely harmless to human bodies and is actually used widely as a food additive. (View test results) Nano TiO2 liquid is made with a patented binding process that makes it possible for this liquid to penetrate and form a permanent bond with surfaces. It is not for human consumption in this nano liquid form of course. However, after it dries to form a film on a substance, it becomes one with the surface. Nano TiO2 liquid should not be applied directly on pets or animals. It can and should be used however to keep pet bedding from retaining odors.

How does Nano TiO2 liquid prevent and remove contamination from surfaces? The reason why airborne contaminants such as second hand smoke, car exhaust, molds, VOC's, viruses, bacteria, etc cannot adhere to surfaces treated with Nano TiO2 liquid is that they become oxidized by the photo-catalytic oxidation and float away as harmless substances.

Why does Nano TiO2 liquid have a sterilizing and anti-microbial effect?
The old standard for killing airborne microorganisms has been strong UVC radiation. (Over 20,000 microwatt's of UVGI per second) UVC germicidal radiation kills microbes by destroying their DNA. However, some microorganism, anthrax most notably, have very strong DNA coatings and can resist even 30,000 microwatt's of UVGI. Our Nano TiO2 liquid works in a different way. Titanium dioxide decomposes and destroys the cell membrane, not the DNA. Most microbes are single celled organisms so they die quickly when any part of them comes in contact with a coated surface. Accordingly, titanium dioxide even kills MRSA (Staphylococcus Aureus) a major cause of hospital infections. Our TiO2 solution has also been proven to even kill other types of microbes that are not even killed by antibiotics! (TiO2 is not selective on types of microorganism it kills, it kills them all). For this reason, Japanese hospitals have shown great anti-bacterial results with our particular patented brand of TiO2 solution. In addition, our Nano TiO2 liquid decomposes toxins that are discharged when microbes die (Verotoxins, Enterotoxins), rendering them into harmless vapors.

Information from Air Pollution & Air Purifiers. Also see Green Millenium & No Odour.

Friday Night Window Cleaning News

Glistening roof for tower: Copper roof to be surpassed as tallest ceiling in city Skylon's copper top. It's not just the autumn leaves that have turned from green to bronze. A recent makeover at the Skylon Tower has added some new lustre to a Niagara Falls icon. The top of the 520-foot tower now gleams like a shiny new penny, following a refinishing and sealing of its copper roof. Its look could last for decades, said the owner of a company that did the work in September. "What we're doing is restoring the copper to close to its original appearance, polishing it and buffing it up and putting a sealant on it," said Don Searle, the owner of Koala Building Maintenance. The Niagara Falls company that specializes in maintenance on high-rise buildings. It does maintenance work and window- washing for most of the high-rise hotels in the city.
The company had a dozen workers on the project from the end of August until the end of September refurbishing the copper roof on top of the 43-year-old observation tower. They stripped away the oxidization -the scientific term for rust -that had built up on the roof since the 520-foot tower was built in the mid- 1960s. Working high atop the iconic tower was an unusual job, though Searle said his employees enjoyed the view. "It's very relaxing -the best view in town." Despite the height, Searle said it was a very safe job because his company hired an engineer to prepare a work plan to keep workers safe in the unusual work conditions. They were working about fifty feet higher than the tower's observation deck level. The green appearance now stripped away had evolved over the years because the copper was exposed to rain and moisture in the air. It's the same process that gives the roofs on the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa their greenish look. When copper is left unsealed, the shine will turn to brown within a few months - think of how fast a penny loses its lustre. After years of being exposed to the elements, copper will turn green -think of the penny you find on the sidewalk. But the Skylon roof was treated with a sealant that should preserve the brighter copper colour for years to come, Searle said. People began calling the Skylon almost as soon as work began. As soon as 18-inch squares of green started to be stripped away, people began asking what was going on.
"We're taking down the 40 years of oxidization of that roof," Carr said. For more than four decades, the Skylon has been the tallest structure in Niagara Falls. At 524 feet from base to tip, the Skylon Tower is one of the tallest structures in Canada. The tower was built on a 13-acre site overlooking the falls at a cost of $12 million at the time. It opened to the public in 1965.
There are only about two dozen buildings in Canada taller than 490 feet (150 metres).
Most of them are office towers in downtown Toronto, including the 72-storey, 950-foot tall First Canadian Place. Toronto's CN Tower remains Canada's tallest freestanding structure at 1,815 feet and five inches. George Yerich has owned the Skylon since 1988. In the past 10 years, several high-rise hotels in the Fallsview area, including the Hilton, Embassy Suites and Sheraton Fallsview, each at 36 storeys have been erected. But the expansion of the Hilton Niagara, currently under construction on Fallsview Boulevard, will be 58 storeys. Once it's finished, the top of the new hotel will be higher than the Skylon's observation deck. Canadian Niagara Hotels has city hall's approval to build a 59-storey hotel tower on Falls Avenue, near the site of the old Oneida Tower that stands over Casino Niagara's site.

Team takes on new heights in rappelling training: CJ David peered up at the top of the Equitable Center in downtown Salem on Monday afternoon and watched Salem Fire Capt. Joel Malstrom rappel down the side of the building. "That's cool," said the boy, who turned 8 years old Monday. "I want to do that when I get older." Malstrom was training with the department's technical-rescue team, which includes 21 members, said Division Chief Reed Godfrey, who oversees safety and special operations.The team trains for high and low-angle rope rescue operations, confined spaces and vehicle extrication. Rappelling off the Equitable Center's 80-foot-tall roof was ideal for firefighters to learn from if they were ever sent to rescue, say, a painting crew or window-washing crew stranded by broken scaffolding, Godfrey said. Some of the workers who were repainting the outside of the Equitable Center stopped to watched the firefighters practice.
"Our painters are quite thrilled that they're being proactive in saving them," said Susan Miller, the Equitable Center building manager.

Memorial night for tragic young dad: A Memorial night is being held for a young dad who died after falling from ladders at work. Window cleaner Graham Clark, 21, from Tyne Dock, South Shields, fell 15ft at a house in Laygate, South Shields, on May 31. He suffered serious head injuries and spent almost a week hooked up to a life support machine, which was switched off after tests showed he was no longer responding. His fiancée, Katie McGovern, 18, was pregnant at the time and recently gave birth to their second child, Rhianna, a sister for 11-month-old Mason. A friend of the family is now organising a night in his honour at Whiteleas Social Club, Oswald Street, South Shields, on Friday, November 7, from 7pm to 11pm. Tickets are £4, available on the door, and funds raised will be donated to a charity of the family's choice.Dad Michael, 50, said at the time of this son's death: "Graham might not be around any more, but he will never ever be forgotten."
A mustached foreigner looking for love in New York City sounds like it could be the plot to Borat. Pussyfoot, the new comedy from first time writer/director Dusan Sekulovic, has already drawn comparisons to the 2006 comedy. This feature, however, began shooting in late 2005, a full year before Borat put Kazhakstan on the map. In Pussyfoot, resident alien Irwin (Dusan Sekulovic, also starring in the film) is looking for girls. Not women. Girls. Preferably Jewish ones with one leg. We find him at the beginning of the film pining over having business cards with an important sounding title in order to attract these girls, with something like Executive Production Manager (Irwin is actually a window cleaner for Transparency Inc.). He ends up with a box of misprinted cards (instead reading Produce Manager), and it's back to square zero in finding someone to love him for him in this "second coming-of-age" story.

It took Guinn a year-and-a-half to learn the cobbling trade, but he has also taken on another one, something he initially learned as a teenager: window washing. "It's been a good sideline," he said, acknowledging a school of thought which says achieving streakless windows amounts to something of an art. "Some people say it is. I just say it takes a lot of practice." This day, the tools of his window-washing trade were outside in the bed of his pickup truck. Meanwhile, the space inside his place of primary employment was crowded with the other goods of his livelihood, including his tools, hats like the one he was wearing, belts, polish, even moccasins for folks who prefer that form of footwear. Looking around, Guinn pronounced himself satisfied with his surroundings. As for the future ... "This is probably what I'll be doing," he said with a smile, "until I'm not."

15-Second Pitch-Bluebird Window Cleaning: Business: Bluebird Window Cleaning. Number of employees: Two. Contact: David Vogeli. The company's pitch: Bluebird Window Cleaning is an authorized dealer of the restoration process that removes moisture and condensation from in between window panes. We can save customers up to 70 percent over the cost of window replacement while eliminating foggy window problems and restoring windows' original R-value, the measure of resistance to heat flow.
3M Earnings Call, Third Quarter 2008: Safety, Security and Protection Services sales rose 27% to $1 billion with the recent acquisition of Aearo Technologies contributing 19 points of growth. Organic sales was 9%, led by growth in personal protection solutions, protective window films, and cleaning solutions for commercial buildings. Operating income rose 42% while margins increased 2.3 points year-on-year to 22.8%. Sales were strong across the globe, led by double-digit sales increases in the U.S. and Asia Pacific.

Cleland family compete at Idol 2008 final: A 12 year old school boy and a singing window cleaner from the same family in Cleland have snatched a spot in the regional final of the nationwide Idol 2008 competition. St Aidan's High School pupil Ryan Hardie (pictured) and his uncle Samuel Pratt (39) battled their way through auditions back in September and now they are in with a shot of reaching the grand final which could see them win a recording contract to release a single.Ryan impressed judges with his rendition of the Bob Seger track Old Time Rock And Roll and Samuel opted for swing classic Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra to bag a place in the regional final.Now the singers are practicing hard before they have to face the judges all over again at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall on November 2.

A Warwick-based window washing and blind-cleaning service won the third annual Orange County Chamber of Commerce Business Idol Award for 2008. DirtyBlinds.com is owned and operated by the husband-and-wife team of Pete and Tammy Artusa. The firm has been in business less than a year, but beat 14 other local businesses for the award. The Orange County Business Idol competition was held as part of the Chamber’s Expo Business Trade Show at Anthony’s Pier 9 in New Windsor. Runner-up businesses included Wiles Chiropractic of Marlboro and Lippincott Manor of Wallkill. The Artusas will receive a marketing makeover for their business valued at more than $12,000. The grand prize includes a written business plan, design and printing of a new trifold brochure, free chamber membership for 2009, free booth at the 2009 expo, miscellaneous public relations and advertising consulting, and free advertising on radio and television.

Bugs 'at the cutting edge of solar technology.' Queensland researchers say insect wings could hold the key to better solar panels and self-cleaning surfaces. The researchers from Griffith University's scanning probe microscopy department have used advanced microscopes to observe and measure structures on the wings of about 200 common insects. They recreated the nano-structures - measuring in the millionths of a millimetre - on man-made materials such as plastic to either repel or attract water. Research leader Greg Watson said creating a surface that adhered to anything or a surface that nothing adheres to was one of the ultimate goals of material science. "Insects that lay their eggs in water such as dragon flies have super-hydrophobic (super water-repelling) structures on their wings in order to repel water," Dr Watson said. "This enables them to skim close to water bodies and fly off dry. "Others, such as certain termites, have super-hydrophilic (super water-attracting) structures that attract and adhere to water. "This ensures that when the insect comes into close proximity with a suitable damp nesting site the insect is immobilised at this location, forcing it to detach its wings, find a mate and nest."
He said while insect wings appeared smooth, they actually feature a landscape of highly specialised nano-sized structures, the depth, proximity and size and shape of which determine their special ability. Researchers have since managed to take nano-scale imprints of the wing structures to duplicate the structures on polymers to create materials with the same properties as the wing. "The possible applications of this research are enormous and varied," Dr Watson said. "If we could make fabrics with super hydrophilic and hydrophobic patterning, we could use these to collect and channel water from the air. "Self-cleaning water-repellent coatings on ships would save a fortune in fuel costs and minimise the use of toxic antifouls, and of course anti-reflective properties could be applied to everything from window glass and spectacles to solar cells and stealth aircraft. "Nature has provided us with a free proven technology that has been finely tuned through evolution over millions of years to aid species survival."