Sol-gel coatings have been used as protective coatings for years. The automotive, construction, apparatus and other industries use sol-gel coatings in their solutions, to protect various surface functions. The global sol-gel coatings market, estimated at USD 7.8 billion in 2022, is expected to reach USD 16 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4% in 2022 -2030. Applications of sol-gel coatings only on car windows, one of the main areas of application of sol-gel coatings, are expected to reach a CARG of 11.9% in 2030 and the level of USD 6.5 billion.[1]For research purposes, the most common method of preparation sol-gel layers is dip-coating, which is problematic for large-scale and curvilinear surface substrates. Therefore, the ultrasonic atomization method was proposed.[2]

It is based on the ultrasonic vibrations effect of atomizing the substances from the liquid phase to the form of a spray with no adverse chemical processes degrading the original hydrolyzate occur. Ultrasonic vibrations can induce the formation of very fine droplets with a capacity expressed in nanoliters. During ultrasonic spraying, the droplet size and the droplet size distribution can be precisely controlled so that a thin film is formed.[3]

Stabilization of sol-gel layers involves controlled forced evaporation of the hydrolyzate reaction medium (alcohol, water), which is mostly processed by heat, and is problematic in case of large-scale and polymer samples. Under the ongoing research, we proposed to replace part of the thermal energy necessary to stabilize the layers with light source, coming up with so called photothermal stabilization process. A stand that allows the sample to be illuminated during the thermal stabilization process has been prepared , and the results of layers stabilization prepared with this method are presented.

References

1 Report Title ‘Global Sol-Gel Coatings Industry’ published February 2024 by Global Industry Analysts

2 Da-Wei Lia, Hui-Yuan Wanga, Yan Liuc, Dong-Song Weia, Zheng-Xue Zhaoa, „Large-scale fabrication of durable and robust super-hydrophobic spray coatings with excellent repairable and anti-corrosion performance”, Chemical Engineering Journal, Volume 367 (2019), doi: /10.1016/j.cej.2019.02.093.

3V.N. Khmelev, D. V. Genne, Andrey V. Shalunov, Viktor A. Nesterov. „Spray Shape Formation at Utrasonic Spraying Process”, International Conference of Young Specialists on Micro/Nanotechnologies and Electron Devices ( 2018), doi:10.1109/EDM.2018.8435017.