TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
(OP)
I have an electronic air filter that uses charged plates to collect the contaminants and was wondering if they would be easier to wash off with a TiO2 and or Teflon coating in the presence of UV. Would it be necessary to increase the voltage on the plates to maintain the current?





RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
PTFE's a very good insulator, so I would imagine it would reduce the effectiveness of your electrostatic precipitator considerably. TiO2 is a semiconductor, at least.
RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
As far as the tendency for the film to reduce surface tension, I wouldn't expect that to be a permanent property- it would tend to go away over time, and at best it's an idealization rather than a reality. And once water does tend to stay put and evaporate to dryness in place, water streaking and spots of inorganic material would be inevitable. And you won't remove those with a mere water rinse- you'll need to do some scrubbing followed by using a squeegee.
RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design
Surface properties are a fickle thing- you're talking about the properties of the top 100 layers of molecules maximum to affect a property like hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity. Anything can happen to a layer that thin. Add to that the fact that the TiO2's surface cleaning feature comes as a result of the photochemical generation of high energy species like hydroxyl radicals, hydrated electrons and "holes" etc., which can do surprising transformative chemistry over the long term. And if the surface chemistry is locally altered, it wouldn't take much to render a small area hydrophobic enough to retain a droplet of water.
As far as making your filter plates easier to clean, forget about TiO2 and UV light. I understand that what's done in commercial (big) electrostatic preciptitators is the use of "rappers" or "hammers" which literally just smack the plates and cause them to vibrate, which causes the heaviest accumulation of solids to fall off into a chute below the plate stack. (I would presume they do this with the flow off...) And from what I understand, as long as the solids on the plates aren't too thick, particles will continue to be attracted so you don't need to wash them scrupulously clean.
RE: TiO2 coating for electronic filter design