Clean windshield gives not only an outward pleasing appearance, but is also important for the safety on road or railways, ensures high-quality stream of light from the illumination device.
Cleaning the glass surface from external pollution is usually performed by hand or a variety of mechanisms. Such manipulations are carried out fairly easily on small areas and with good accessibility of surfaces. However, problems arise on large areas of glass surfaces or in intensive traffic.
Glass with a self-cleaning effect, when the water does not wet the glass surface and easily flows along the inclined surface, or when exposed to the incoming air stream, capturing the particles of dust and dirt, has significant commercial potential not only for transport but also for the shop windows and the surface of solar batteries.
Novosibirsk company has developed a technology of creating the optically transparent water- and oil-repellent coating on glass surface.
Optically transparent water- and oil-repelling coating is created by chemical reactions. A monolayer (i.e., one molecule thick) is formed on the surface of glass; and it is similar to Teflon in chemical properties. The lifespan of the coating exceeds 10 years and can match the lifespan of the glass itself.
The coating is resistant to all environmental influences: temperature, pressure, humidity, cleaning chemicals. It is a smart coating technology with self-cleaning properties.
The technology has been tested (coating has been applied to windshields of about 100 cars in Novosibirsk and Moscow, as well as to shop window in Novosibirsk (exposure over 5 years)). Lab regulations for production of reagents and regulations of application were compiled; experimental batches of reagents were produced. The technology is ready for the market entry.
Possible areas of use:
- Windshields of cars, railroad locomotives, airplanes and helicopters;
- Shop windows and glass panes of business centers;
- Protective glass lamps and other lighting systems.
- Protective glass for solar panels (solar batteries). Mudding of solar batteries (SB) surface significantly reduces the efficiency (up to 40% per month). For industrial SB spread over a large area where the cleaning is performed by robotic systems, the application of the coating could significantly improve the effectiveness of cleaning since no water is required (self-cleaning ensures removal of impurities by wind and rain).