Self-Cleaning and Antibacterial Properties of Paint Containing ZnO and WO<sub>3</sub> Co-Doped VO<sub>2</sub> Thermochromic Nano-Pigment

Abstract

Thermochromic nano-pigments of ZnO and WO3 co-doped VO2 for mixing in paint were prepared by chemical method. The samples were successfully synthesized after annealing at 700°C for 1 h in nitrogen atmosphere. ZnO concentrations of 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 at% were co-doped with WO3 in VO2. The 0.1 at% ZnO doping exhibited an amorphous phase, while 0.3 and 0.5 at% ZnO doping showed monoclinic phase having thermochromic transition temperatures of 59.43 and 52.60°C, respectively. The crystallite size of 0.5 at% ZnO doped monoclinic phase was 42 nm. The coating paints on glass substrates were prepared by mixing white colour paint with 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 wt% of the 0.5 at% ZnO and WO3 co-doped VO2 nano-pigment. It was found that the paint with 0.5 wt% loading exhibited self-cleaning properties and 99.99% antibacterial against under UV irradiation for 40 min.