Ecopaint
A paint that soaks up some of the most noxious gases from vehicle exhausts will go on sale in Europe in March. Its makers hope it will give architects and town planners a new weapon in the fight against pollution.
Called Ecopaint, the substance is designed to reduce levels of the nitrogen oxides, collectively known as the NOx gases, which cause respiratory problems and trigger smog production.
Patents filed last week show how the novel coating works. The paint's base is polysiloxane, a silicon-based polymer. Embedded in it are spherical nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate 30 nanometres wide. Because the particles are so small, the paint is clear, but pigment can be added. The first paint to go on sale will be white.
The polysiloxane base is porous enough to allow NOx to diffuse though it and adhere to the titanium dioxide particles. The particles absorb ultraviolet radiation in sunlight and use this energy to convert NOx to nitric acid.
The acid is then either washed away in rain, or neutralized by the alkaline calcium carbonate particles, producing harmless quantities of carbon dioxide, water and calcium nitrate, which will also wash away. [Excerpted from Jenny Hogan, "Smog-busting paint soaks up noxious gases," NewScientist.com; suggested by Margaret Montgomery, Seattle]
1 Comments:
Too bad "Ecopaint" never materialized. More than three years after the product was promised (the New Scientist article said it would be available in March 2004), the word is not even found on Millenium Chemicals' Website.
Don't hold your breath.
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