Minna Piispanen

Corrosion of Glazes Coated with Functional Films in Detergent Solutions

The goal of this work was to establish the compatibility of mat glazes with functional films known to render the surfaces with self-cleaning or easy-to-clean properties. Glazes with wollastonite, pseudowollastonite, diopside and zircon as the main crystalline phases in the surfaces were coated with fluoropolymer as well as ceramic, sol-gel derived titania and zirconia films. The glazes were soaked in typical detergent solutions used in everyday life up to four days. The surface roughness was measured with confocal optical microscope and the surface was imaged and analyzed with SEM/EDXA. When applied on wollastonite and pseudowollastonite containing glazes the functional films readily reacted in water solutions by pitting of the surface in the vicinity of the crystals. The ceramic titania and zirconia films showed better chemical resistance on wollastonite –free glazes, while the fluoropolymer film corroded in the most alkaline environments. The results indicate that functional films could be used also on rough surfaces without markedly affecting the surface topography. However, the films should be applied only on glazes with an excellent chemical resistance.

Easy-to-Clean Coatings on Glass and Glazed Surfaces

Glass and glazes are easy-to-clean surfaces often used in everyday environments where the surface needs to repel soils and deposits. In general, these surfaces have good chemical durability in everyday environments. However, the durability is rapidly degraded in solutions of high or low pH. This kind of surface corrosion has been found to diminish the cleanability. Surface topography has also a certain influence on the soil attachment and cleanability. Self-cleaning and easy-to-clean coatings have been employed to enhance the cleanability of surfaces. In this report surface properties of three coatings reported to enhance the cleanability of glass and glazed surfaces are summarized. The properties discussed are the surface appearance, roughness, wettability, soil attachment and soil removal. Also the chemical and mechanical durability of the coatings are discussed. The coatings studied were a commercial fluoropolymer film applied at room temperature, an experimental sol-gel derived TiO2 coating calcined at 500°C, and an experimental liquid flame sprayed TiO2-Ag coating applied on the substrates at 500-800°C. The advantages of the fluoropolymer coating are easy application and soil good soil repellence, but the coating has limited chemical and mechanical durability. The manufacture of the sol-gel TiO2 coating requires several processing steps. The coated surface showed excellent cleanability, and good chemical and mechanical durability. The liquid flame sprayed coating has potential to be applied online in the material manufacture. However, the processing parameters should be optimized in order to achieve desired improvements in the cleanability.