Nanoscopic coloured coatings for durable interior applications
Coloured transparent organic-inorganic hybrid coatings
Interior design is set to utilise a new era in coloured materials if a team of researchers from Mexico have their way. The researchers have developed hard, coloured, transparent, organic–inorganic hybrid coatings for a range of materials. The success of the coatings comes from the formation of a composite or bio-mineral system at the nanoscopic or molecular level.
In a paper published in AZojomo*, the researchers, J. L. Almaral-Sanchez, E. Rubio, J. A. Calderón-Guillén, A. Mendoza-Galvan, J. F. Pérez-Robles and R. Ramírez-Bon, from Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) discuss a sol-gel method for the deposition of red, green and blue PMMA-SiO2 hybrid films on glass substrates.
They found that the colored hybrid films are composed of a homogeneous organic-inorganic (polymethylmethacrylate-silica/PMMA-SiO2) matrix with the embedded organic dye molecules very well dispersed in it. This in turn produces homogeneous and intense colors.
Microscopy measurements showed the surface of the films to be very flat and smooth with very little roughness and reinforced hardness in comparison with the pure PMMA phase. The transparent colored hybrid films have a very good optical quality with color intensity depending on the amount of organic dye in the films.
The hybrid coatings can be used very well for decorative purposes in indoor applications.
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Materials Sciences
Materials management deals with the research, development, manufacturing and processing of raw and industrial materials. Key aspects here are biological and medical issues, which play an increasingly important role in this field.
innovations-report offers in-depth articles related to the development and application of materials and the structure and properties of new materials.
Newest articles
Webb captures top of iconic horsehead nebula in unprecedented detail
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of a zoomed-in portion of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula….
Cost-effective, high-capacity, and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes
Charge-recharge cycling of lithium-superrich iron oxide, a cost-effective and high-capacity cathode for new-generation lithium-ion batteries, can be greatly improved by doping with readily available mineral elements. The energy capacity and…
Novel genetic plant regeneration approach
…without the application of phytohormones. Researchers develop a novel plant regeneration approach by modulating the expression of genes that control plant cell differentiation. For ages now, plants have been the…