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

The SiO2–TiO2 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 SiO2 and TiO2 on the stability of the sols, different treatment processes on the crystalline morphology of TiO2, 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 SiO2–TiO2 coating featuring both the intrinsic hydrophilicity of SiO2 and photophilicity of TiO2 had the WCA up to 3.5° and exhibited good photocatalytic, self-cleaning, anti-fogging, and mechanical properties.