New Paint Technology Cleans Walls and Air

According to an article on phys.org, newly developed titanium oxide nanoparticles, when added to paint, can cause walls to clean themselves, as well as the air in the room.

A research team from TU Wien (also known as the Vienna University of Technology) and the Università Politecnica delle Marche in Italy has developed the nanoparticles. When added to ordinary paint, the nanoparticles use sunlight to activate the paint’s self-cleaning attributes.

According to the article, the nanoparticles bind substances from the air and then decompose them afterwards. As such, a painted wall can clean the air and also clean itself.

By doing so, the wall can help eliminate pollutants in indoor air, improving indoor air quality (IAQ) and combat “sick building syndrome,” a situation where poor air quality affects the health of a building’s inhabitants. 

“For years, people have been trying to use customized wall paints to clean the air,” Günther Rupprechter, professor at the Institute of Materials Chemistry at TU Wien, told phys.org. “Titanium oxide nanoparticles are particularly interesting in this context. They can bind and break down a wide range of pollutants.”

According to the study, 96% of air and wall pollutants can be removed by simple sunlight using this technology.

“We have now investigated this phenomenon in great detail using a variety of different surface and nanoparticle analysis methods,” Qaisar Maqbool, one of the study’s authors, told phys.org. “In this way, we were able to show exactly how these particles behave, before and after they were added to the wall paint.”

According to the article, further study is planned, with the eventual intent of producing a commercially available paint. To view the study on the technology, click here.