Preparation of the photocatalytic antifogging membrane and its hydrophilicproperty

Supported multicomponent membranes with photocatalytic antifogging property were prepared by the improved sol-gel method, The influences of preparatio n and experiment conditions such as thickness of membrane, temperature and time of sintering, light source, and intensity of illumination on hydrophil icity of the membranes were studied by using XRD, AES and water-contact ang le measurement, The results show that TiO2 crystal type and specific surfac e area of the membrane are the important factors affecting the hydrophilici ty of the photocatalytic antifogging membrane, The water-contact angle is d ecreased with increasing the specific surface area and the content of anata se. Hydrophilicity of the membrane was also determined by thickness of memb rane due to the amount of catalyst and efficiency of UV light absorption, I t was found that the hydrophilicity has a step-response to intensity of ill umination, Sunlight illumination has a similar efficiency to the ultraviole t lamp for recovering and maintaining hydrophilicity of membrane.