The Revolutionary Spray On Glass

Society has searched for new and more effective ways of providing a clean environment. For many years it has been to the expense of humanity’s health and the environments demise. Chemicals are no longer an acceptable method and thus opens up room for new possibilities. That opportunity was embraced by a European company and the product called Sprayon Glass was born.

Sprayon Glass is a type of liquid glass and was built off a type of nanotechnology which emerged from Institute for New Materials in Saarbruken. The actual glass itself was invented in Turkey and later patented by the family based German company Nanopool. It is comprised almost completely of Silicon Dioxide, a chemical derived from quartz dust, the most plentiful of materials in the world. It has been tested throughout Germany, Turkey and Britain in various locations such as a German branch of a burger chain, an international chain of Luxury Hotels, a train company in Britain and various monuments in Britain and Turkey.

Once sprayed onto an object or surface, it is only 100 nanometers thick, that’s about 500 times thinner than human hair. It is nontoxic, highly flexible and resistant to acid, heat and UV radiation. It is strong enough to defend against bacteria and damaging mildew and fungus yet gentle enough to be used around food and in the human body. According to Nanopool “It is quite inert and has no known harmful impact on the environment, unlike many of the domestic and industrial cleaning products its use could help to reduce.” Because of Sprayon Glass’s nature it is able to be cleaned with plain hot water. Tests conducted show that treated surfaces are just as sterile and clean as those untreated surfaces cleaned with a strong bleach solution. The glass lasts for quite a while, between a year and several years depending on how often the items are used.

The glass is able to be mixed with water or ethanol depending on the intended type of surface to be used on. It is nontoxic and undetectable making it feasible for use in a variety of environments. It has the ability to bind to the material it is sprayed on by using a powerful electrostatic force which repels on the outer surface. This creates a sterile, nonstick, antibacterial surface which repels dirt, bacteria, fungus, mildew and other microbes. According to Mr. McClelland, “Items such as stints can be coated, and this will create anti sticking features – catheters , and sutures which are a source of infection, will also cease to be problematic.” Because of these traits, sprayon glass can be used in the medical field and yet is strong enough to be used around monuments such as Ataturk Mausoleum and the fifteenth century Ilyas Bey Mosque in Turkey. “The surfaces are still water-repellent and there are no colour changes to the materials,” Professor Bekir Eskici of the Mosque project said.

“Very soon almost every product you purchase will be protected with a highly durable, easy-to-clean coating … the concept of spray-on glass is mind boggling,” says Neil McClelland, Nanopool’s UK project manager. This however can be rather unfortunate as it will make most of the cleaning products on the market obsolete and drive down sales or even close out many companies. This will in turn take much of the profits of the Supermarkets which sale these products. “Many UK supermarkets are unwilling to stock the technology as many of the other cleaning products which they sell will become redundant. This is also the case with some major cleaning companies who are scared of having to clean less frequently and to change from using cleaning chemicals to using water in most instances,” Mr. McClelland states.

It has been tested on other areas besides just domestic and medical surfaces. Vineyard owners and winemakers have been rather excited about this new product as well. Because of it being so environmentally friendly and nontoxic it has been tested on the vineyard crops. It has been found to be effective against a common fungus which destroys the plants. When it was sprayed onto the seeds of the grape plants it was found those seeds germinate and grow faster than those not treated. This in turn makes for an enjoyable harvest and benefit to the farmers. Winemakers also have found a similar effect. Using the spray on glass has been effective in preventing “corking”. It was also found to be repellent to termites when sprayed onto wood. It is thought that it makes the wood look like a solid barrier to the termites instead of wood.

Nanopool’s Sprayon Glass is currently available in Germany for domestic usage and will be available on a full retail scale in the United Kingdom sometime early 2010. Its projected price should be about £5 GBP or $8 USD.

It sounds too good to be true: a non-toxic spray invisible to the human eye that protects almost any surface against dirt and bacteria, whether it is hospital equipment and medical bandages or ancient stone monuments and expensive fabrics.

But true it is. The spray is a form of “liquid glass” and is harmless to living things and the wider environment. It is being touted as one of the most important, environmentally-friendly products to emerge from the field of nanotechnology, which deals in objects at the molecular end of the size scale.

Tests have revealed an astonishing variety of potential uses for the liquid glass, from protecting vineyards against fungal attacks to coating medical implants with non-stick, antibacterial surfaces. Scientists have even used it to spray fabric with an invisible, dirt-resistant film – emulating the fictional invention of unstainable clothing in the 1951 Ealing comedy The Man in the White Suit.

The secret of liquid glass is that it forms an ultra-thin film between 15 and 30 molecules thick – about 500 times thinner than human hair. On this nanoscale – a few millionths of a millimetre thick – liquid glass turns into a highly flexible invisible barrier that repels water, dirt and bacteria, yet is resistant to heat, acids and UV radiation but remains “breathable”.

A family-owned German company called Nanopool holds patent rights on the technology behind the liquid glass, which emerged from research at the Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken. Nanopool is already talking to British firms and the NHS about using the product for a diverse range of applications, from coating designer handbags to spraying the nose cones of high-speed trains.

An NHS hospital in Southport, Lancashire, has just completed a year-long trial where a variety of surfaces were coated with liquid glass to test its ability to resist dirt and microbial growth. The results of the trial are expected to be published next month.

Similar tests by food-processing firms in Germany have shown that sterile surfaces treated with liquid glass are just as clean and free of microbial contamination after being washed in hot water as untreated surfaces washed in the usual way with strong bleach, and the antimicrobial effect continued over many months.

The liquid glass is composed of almost pure silicon dioxide, the chemical constituent of quartz or silica, the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust. It is quite inert and has no known harmful impact on the environment, unlike many of the domestic and industrial cleaning products its use could help to reduce.

The “easy-clean” properties of the liquid glass could lead to drastic cuts in the amount of potentially toxic cleaning agents used in factories, offices, schools, hospitals and the home, as well as cutting the costs of labour and the amount of time spent scrubbing surfaces.

It works by forming a highly water-repellent or “hydrophobic” layer that resists dirt and bacteria, so that treated surfaces can be quickly be washed clean with plain water, according to Neil McClelland, Nanopool’s UK project manager.

“Many UK supermarkets are unwilling to stock the technology as many of the other cleaning products which they sell will become redundant. This is also the case with some major cleaning companies who are scared of having to clean less frequently and to change from using cleaning chemicals to using water in most instances,” Mr McClelland told The Independent.

A number of leading organisations are conducting cleaning tests with the product, including a train company in Britain which is using it to protect the front of the train as well as inside its carriages; an international chain of luxury hotels; an upmarket fabric and clothing firm; and a German branch of a hamburger chain.

The secret of the glass’s unique properties lies in the way it is manufactured so that it can be sold in a solution of water or alcohol, depending of the type of surface to be covered. When sprayed on a surface, the glass solution forms a flexible, ultra-thin film that generates strong electrostatic forces that bind it to the material in question, yet repel water from the opposing, exposed surface.

“In essence, we extract molecules of silicon dioxide from quartz sand and add molecules of water or ethanol depending on which surface is being coated. The really clever part is that there are no added nano-particles, resins or additives – the coatings form and bond due to quantum forces,” Mr McClelland said.

When bacteria or other microbes land on the glass surface they are not killed, but they cannot divide and replicate easily, he said. This imparts a natural, antibacterial property to the layer of liquid glass similar to the silver-ion surfaces used to protect some kitchen equipment, but with a longer-lasting effect, Mr McClelland claimed.

“Very soon almost every product you purchase will be protected with a highly durable, easy-to-clean coating … the concept of spray-on glass is mind boggling,” Mr McClelland said.

Sprayed onto outdoor stone or brick, the liquid glass creates a water-resistant surface that is easier to clean. It allows the stone to breathe, preventing a build-up of mildew under the nano-coating. Graffiti is more easily removed from treated statues, without the unsightly “shadowing” from conventional anti-graffiti treatment, Mr McClelland said.

Britain’s war graves organisation, Alrewas, is in discussions with Nanopool about treating its stone monuments and Turkish scientists are conducting tests of liquid glass on important national monuments in Turkey, such as the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara and the 15th Century Ilyas Bey Mosque in Miletus.

Professor Bekir Eskici of Ankara University, director of the mosque project, said that the liquid glass solution was applied to the building’s dome as well as its decorative marble surfaces in August 2008. The surfaces are still water-repellent and there are no colour changes to the materials, Professor Eskici said.

Sascha Schwindt, managing director of Nanopool, said that agricultural companies were also interested in liquid glass as a treatment against fungal attack on plants and seeds. Vineyards are testing it against a common grape fungus and wine makers are interested in using the product to prevent “corking”.

Mr Schwindt said that tests have also shown that seeds sprayed with the liquid glass are not just protected against fungal attacks, but germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds. “We think it’s because the energy of the seeds is used for development and growth rather than defence against bacteria and fungi in the soil,” he said.

The agricultural aspects of the liquid glass came out of tests showing that treated wood is resistant to termite attack. Wood sprayed with the liquid glass survived undamaged after being buried in a termite mound for nine months, Mr Schwindt said.

“Our hypothesis is that the termites do not see the treated wood as wood but as a solid barrier,” he said.

Professor Colin Humphreys of Cambridge University, a respected expert in the field of materials science, said that Nanopool’s liquid glass appears to have a striking range of applications. “I have to say the product looks impressive,” he said.

Nano invention: Macro possibilities

Agriculture

Wood treated with liquid glass was found to be resistant to termite attacks in tropical climates. This led to tests on vines showing that treated plants are more resistant to a fungus that attacks the grapes. Seeds coated with liquid glass are less likely to be be attacked by fungal spores and germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, probably because they do not waste energy fending off the microbes. Wine corks treated with liquid glass may also be protected against “corking”, when contaminants in the cork taint the flavour of the wine.

Stone monuments

Stone surfaces coated with liquid glass are protected against the weather and easier to clean, especially if grafittied. For 18 months, scientists in Turkey have been running trials on the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara and a 15th-Century mosque. They report continued water protection and no discolouration. Talks are taking place about the possible use of liquid glass in Britain to protect memorials and war graves.

Domestic bathrooms

Millions of homes use cleaning agents and bleach. Tests by food processing companies in Germany have shown that sterile surfaces treated with the liquid glass can be cleaned with plain hot water and have levels of sterility seen on surfaces washed in bleach.

Its uses in the fashion industry

The liquid glass produces a highly flexible, invisible barrier to liquids and dirt. It cannot be seen by the naked eye and yet it allows fabrics to “breathe”, according to its manufacturers. Expensive fabrics could be treated to make them stain resistant and at least one maker of upmarket handbags and coats is understood to be conducting negotiations about treating its products before they leave the factory. The day may soon come when the clothes are routinely treated with liquid glass to give them protection against dirt – the angle in the 1951 classic comedy movie The Man in the White Suit.

By Steve Connor
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/sprayon-miracle-could-revolutionise-manufacturing-1885158.html

“SiO2- ultra thin layering” is the technical term for Liquid Glass. Apart from a select group of professionals, few people in the UK know about this stunning technology. If you walk around Ataturk’s Mausoleum in Ankara you are walking on it; if you visit certain hospitals in the UK you are touching it. If you see an unusually clean train you are probably looking at it, and if you wonder how your white settee looks so clean, you may be sitting on it. All of these surfaces have been coated with invisible glass.

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 result in farmers in enjoying massively increased yields . Trials for in-vivo applications are subject to a degree of secrecy, but Neil McClelland, the UK Project Manager for Nanopool GmbH, describes the results as “stunning”.
“Items such as stents can be coated, and this will create anti sticking features – catheters , and sutures which are a source of infection, will also cease to be problematic.”

When asked about how the technology works, Neil, said “In essence, we extract molecules of SiO2 (the primary constituent of glass) from quartz sand, and then we add the molecules to water or ethanol. Unfortunately, as they say in the movies , if I told you any more …..”. Neil comments further, “The really clever part is that there are no added nano-particles , resins or additives- the coatings form and bond due to quantum forces. Our research informs us that in all probability, we offer the most versatile coating in the world. We are happy to hear about any other technology which offers the same range of applications. Very soon almost every product that you purchase will be protected with some form of easy -to -clean coating. It just so happens that we offer something that everyone finds fascinating . The concept of spray -on glass is just mind -boggling”.
This technology is now available for domestic use in Germany. Full scale retail availability in the UK will commence in early 2010