2017 Volume 125 Issue 3 Pages 168-174
Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) films coated with photocatalytic TiO2 and silicone as a binder were fabricated and attached to a window pane. A white substance was observed on the surface after exposure for several months in an area with air pollution. The white substance was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, ion chromatograph and capillary electrophoresis, and was identified as CaSO4. Although the oxidizing properties of the films were affected by the particle size and the amount of TiO2 in the photocatalytic layer, the hydrophilicizing properties of the films were hardly changed by them. In this study, we found that it was possible to decrease the oxidizing properties of photocatalytic PET films while maintaining the hydrophilicizing properties constant by using small TiO2 particles and controlling the ratio of TiO2/binder.