Titania, single-doped and lanthanum-silver co-doped titania nanocomposite were coated on cellulosic and polyacrylonitrile fibers via sol–gel method. The prepared samples were evaluated using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photolumines...

Spiders can produce cobwebs with high strength to density ratio and surprisingly display self-cleaning, strong and releasable adhesion (like geckos). Nanointerlocking, capillary and van der Waals forces, all potential adhesive mechanisms, are thus discussed, demonstrating the key role played by hierarchy in the design of superhydrophobic, i.e. self-cleaning (dry or wet and enhanced by activatin...

The high pollution levels in our cities are producing a significant increase of dust on buildings. An application of photoactive coatings on building materials can produce buildings with self-cleaning surfaces. In this study, we have developed a simple sol-gel route for producing Au-TiO₂/SiO₂ photocatalysts with application on buildings. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) improved the TiO₂ photoact...

Insects and plants are two types of organisms that are widely separated on the evolutionary tree; for example, plants are mostly phototrophic organisms whilst insects are heterotrophic organisms. In order to cope with environmental stresses, their surfaces have developed cuticular layers that consist of highly sophisticated structures. These structures serve a number of purposes, and impart use...

Self-cleaning applications using TiO₂ coatings on various supporting media have been attracting increasing interest in recent years. This work discusses the issue of self-cleaning textile production on an industrial scale. A method for producing self-cleaning textiles starting from a commercial colloidal nanosuspension (nanosol) of TiO₂ is described. Three different treatments were developed fo...

OBJECTIVE Cleaning products may cause work-related asthma, but information regarding the specific exposures involved is scarce. We aimed to determine the associations between asthma and occupational exposure to cleaning agents in hospital workers. METHODS Analyses were conducted in 179 (136 women) hospital workers and a reference population of 545 subjects (18-79 years) from the French case-c...

THE EFFECT OF CALCINATION TEMPERATURE TO COMPOSITECHARACTERISTICS TiO2SiO2 NANOPARTICLE. Self-cleaning material is a that utilizes the photocatalytic property to degrade organic and inorganic compounds with help of UV light. One materials have good TiO2, causes TiO2 be amphiphilic: becomes hydrophilic when there light hydrophobic no The can improved addition buffer such as SiO2. nanoparticle wa...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between self-reported pain, muscular activity and postural load during cleaning tasks. Eighteen cleaners performed usual cleaning tasks in both a laboratory and a lecture room. The level of perceived pain in the neck-shoulder region during the last 7 days was recorded. Bipolar surface electromyography (SEMG) was recorded bilaterally f...