Preparation of anatase nano‐TiO2/xanthan gum composite (NTX) and rheological study of the interior wall coatings using NTX as additive

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a kind of novel and high‐performance rheological additive, an eco‐friendly composite of anatase nano‐TiO2 particles and xanthan gum (NTX), for interior wall coatings.Design/methodology/approachNTX was prepared through heating and refluxing the mixture of TiO2 hydrosol and xanthan gum, and five interior wall coating samples were fabricated with different NTX contents. The morphology of nano‐TiO2 hydrosol and NTX were characterised with TEM, and the stability and rheological properties of these coating samples were studied.FindingsTEM images showed a core‐shell structure of NTX, and that nano‐TiO2 particles in it were encapsulated by xanthan gum, which was anticipated to weaken Van der Waals force among nano‐TiO2 particles thus preventing the aggregation of nano‐particles. All of the five coating samples were found to be non‐Newtonian pseudo‐plastic fluid, and showed excellent stability and thixotropic property.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focused on the preparation, the characterisation of NTX additive and the study of the rheological behaviours of the coating samples with NTX. Some other aspects, such as coating durability, photocatalytic ability and film properties, will be studied in the future.Practical implicationsIt was proven that NTX was an effective eco‐friendly rheological additive for interior wall coatings. Consequently, this paper threw light on developing eco‐friendly interior wall coatings.Originality/valueA kind of novel and effective rheological additive was developed for interior wall coatings in the study reported in the paper. A method was also developed to introduce functional nano‐particles into coating in a good dispersion state.