Carboxylic acid layer integral to titanium dioxide self-cleaning method

A photograph of a high purity icicle which is produced and then melted in a vacuum chamber

Source: © TU Wien

Tricky surface analysis reveals unexpected mechanism

Titanium dioxide cleans itself with the help of organic molecules. The molecules mostly originate from vegetation stuck to TiOsurfaces, and turn it from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, researchers now show.