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Photo-catalytic coating of polystyrene for household cooling appliances with self cleaning surfaces

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Abstract

The potential of photo-catalysis as a self cleaning process is investigated for application inside refrigerator cabinets, taking advantage of the well known oxidative properties of titanium dioxide (anatase form). A low temperature in situ synthesis was adopted to obtain a catalytic layer over a polystyrene (PS) support. The synthesised material was characterised by SEM, XRD and BET analyses. Photo-catalytic activity towards organic dirt decomposition was measured through the oxidation of various organic dyes, as the perceivable decolouring of the dirt represents a clear activity indicator for users. The selected contaminants (Methylene Blue and Ortho-Cresole Red) and two refrigerator wastes (orange juice and tomato pulp) were tested at different concentrations. The results were evaluated through by colorimetric analysis. A clear photo-catalytic effect of dye discolouring was detected on the coated samples. The discolouring effect of the coated samples was comparable with that observed on the anatase powder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy

    S. Di Giulio, N. Russo, D. Fino, G. Saracco & V. Specchia

  2. Indesit Company, Innovation and Technology Department, Via Lamberto Corsi 55, 60044, Fabriano, AN, Italy

    P. Faraldi

Authors
  1. S. Di Giulio
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  2. P. Faraldi
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  3. N. Russo
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  4. D. Fino
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  5. G. Saracco
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  6. V. Specchia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Fino.

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Di Giulio, S., Faraldi, P., Russo, N. et al. Photo-catalytic coating of polystyrene for household cooling appliances with self cleaning surfaces. J Appl Electrochem 39, 2265–2273 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-009-9858-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-009-9858-6

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