Surfaces coated with titanium dioxide could react with an overhead light to continuously dissipate dirt, mildew and bacteria.



The day is not far, when you no longer will need to invest hours of tedious labors to clean up your homes. Engineers are producing a coating that can respond to the visible spectrum — the light bulb hanging from your bathroom ceiling, or room.



Michael Cortie, Enter materials engineer and his colleagues are working to perfect the coating at the Institute for Nanoscale Technology in Sydney, Australia. The TiO2 chemical is sensitive to light. When this chemical is struck by photons, it reacts with air and water vapor to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials, hence changing its harmful states.



With the help of light, TiO2 turns scourges like grease and bacteria into carbon dioxide, hydrogen and other by-products that escape into the air, adding to it as pollutants.



The TiO2 is also hydrophilic (water-loving). Thus, unlike tiles and glass, TiO2 will attract water, taking the by-products and oversize particles along with it. Wait for the day, you will clean your house just by a press on a switch, or that it would be an automated process.



Via: Popular Science