Functional coatings as an interesting tool for industrial opportunities : development and commercialization

Abstract

In this paper, the question how to utilize sol-gel chemistry in a broader way will be discussed and examples for successful utilization, especially involving academia, are presented. It has to be said that in most areas where sol-gel technologies are successfully used, large companies which already have chemical departments or have built up chemical departments are involved. It is also true that most of these companies use the sol-gel process as an in-house high performance tool for developing high-tech products. There are only a few examples in which chemical industry is producing materials to be used in down-stream processes. Examples are TiO2 as a pigment, wash coats for automotive catalysts or sol-gel coated mica pigments with interference layers, especially as additives for automotive lacquers, or more recently, ITO slurries for the fabrication of conductive coatings for displays. In most cases, however, the in-house route is preferred, since the added value can be "harvested" through the final product.