Superhydrophilic ceramic glazes for sanitaryware

Abstract

Based on industrial ZrSiO4 glazes for sanitaryware, a new glaze with photoactive oxides was developed. The development aimed to produce a glaze that is smooth in order to decrease contamination of the ware and increase superhydrophilic wetting behaviour for easier cleanability. The glazes were characterized with profilometry, atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction and scanning electronmicroscopy. For reactivity under UV light, the wetting angles in the dark and after irradiation, aswell as the degradationofmethylene blueweremeasured. SampleswithTiO2 showed no improvement in wetting, neither in the dark, nor under UV irradiation. However, compared with the industrial ZrSiO4 tile, the cleaning properties were improved in the case of bulk contaminants likemustard. Evenmore promising resultswere achieved by replacingZrSiO4withZnO.The glazes developed in thiswork showed surface roughness of less than 20 nm and superhydrophilic wetting under UV illumination.