Potentially Amazing Technology: Is Spray-On Liquid Glass About to Make Everything Greener?
"The fissure was induced in order present an image which shows the characteristics of the coating. The image shows the SiO2 coating on a filament of a micro
Potentially Amazing Technology: Is Spray-On Liquid Glass About to Make Everything Greener?
"The fissure was induced in order present an image which shows the characteristics of the coating. The image shows the SiO2 coating on a filament of a microfibre." Image: Nanopool
If it Works and is Safe, It Could Change the World
A special coating technically known as "SiO2 ultra-thin layering", but more memorably called "spray-on liquid glass", has been invented in Turkey at the Saarbrücken Institute for New Materials (the patent is owned by Nanopool). It is non-toxic promises to "protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections [...] the coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products." How Does it Work?
The details are still secret, but based on the information that is available, it seems like a pretty simple process. They purify silicon dioxide (SiO2, which is basically what you find in regular glass) from quartz sand, add water or ethanol molecules, and then through an unknown process are able to spray this on surfaces and get a very thin film of glass (100 nanometers, or 15-30 molecules) to stick. "The really clever part is that there are no added nano-particles, resins or additives- the coatings form and bond due to quantum forces." They also claim that it is very safe (these is already a lot of these types of inert molecules out in the wild, though I think it stills needs to be rigorously tested for toxicity).
An Almost Unbelievable List of Applications
The flexible and breathable glass coating is approximately 100 nanometres thick (500 times thinner than a human hair), and so it is completely undetectable. It is food safe, environmentally friendly (winner of the Green Apple Award) and it can be applied to almost any surface within seconds. When coated, all surfaces become easy to clean and anti- microbially protected (Winner of the NHS Smart Solutions Award ). Houses, cars, ovens, wedding dress or any other protected surface become stain resistant and can be easily cleaned with water ; no cleaning chemicals are required. Amazingly a 30 second DIY application to a sink unit will last for a year or years, depending on how often it is used. But it does not stop there - the coatings are now also recognised as being suitable for agricultural and in-vivo application. Vines coated with SiO2 don't suffer from mildew, and coated seeds grow more rapidly without the need for anti-fungal chemicals. This will 