ARGITU

Artículos científicos

• An Alternative Methodology for the Evaluation of Photocatalytic Activity of Polymeric Coatings by Monitoring Dye Degradation; X. Sandua, P. Rivero, J. Fernández Palacio, J. Esparza y R. Rodríguez; Coatings 2022, 12, 1529. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12101529
• Design of Photocatalytic Functional Coatings Based on the Immobilization of Metal Oxide Particles by the Combination of Electrospinning and Layer-by-Layer Deposition Techniques; X. Sandua, P. Rivero, J. Fernández Palacio, J. Esparza, A. Conde y R. Rodríguez; Coatings 2022, 12, 862. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12060862
• Sandua, X.; Rivero, P.J.; Esparza, J.; Fernández-Palacio, J.; Conde, A.; Rodríguez, R.J. Design of Photocatalytic Functional Coatings Based on the Immobilization of Metal Oxide Particles by the Combination of Electrospinning and Layer-by-Layer Deposition Techniques. Coatings 2022, 12, 862. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12060862
• Ainhoa Albistur,Pedro J. Rivero, Joseba Esparza, Rafael Rodríguez (2021): “Evaluation of the Photocatalytic Activity and Anticorrosion Performance of Electrospun Fibers Doped with Metallic Oxides”, Polymers 2021, 13(12), 2011; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13122011

Comunicaciones en congresos

• XVI Congreso Nacional de Materiales, Ciudad Real 2022. Ponencia del doctor Joseba Esparza. “Recubrimientos fotocatalíticos de óxidos metálicos combinados (Fe2O3/WO3/SrTiO3) depositados por MS-PVD”.
• XVI Congreso Nacional de Materiales, Ciudad Real 2022. Póster. “Encapsulamiento de nanopartículas fotocatalíticas de TiO2 mediante la combinación de las técnicas de deposición de Electrospinning y Electrospraying”.
• XVI Congreso Nacional de Materiales, Ciudad Real 2022. Póster. “Estudio comparativo de recubrimientos fotocatalíticos nanoestructurados mediante técnicas de deposición Layer-by-Layer assembly”.
• XVI Congreso Nacional de Materiales, Ciudad Real 2022. Póster. “Electrospining vs Electrospraying para el diseño de superficies superhidrofóbicas”.

Because of the enormous health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the need to have the greatest possible number of tools to fight the illness became evident. In that context, multiple and very diverse strategies were designed and studied, like for example the use of masks, developing new vaccines and adopting measures to restrict mobility. As an alternative, the ARGITU project proposed the development of new virucidal coatings and their application to slow down the number of infections in public use areas, a measure that would be used in addition to the ones mentioned above, to maximise the impact of the measures in the field of health.

The primary goal of the ARGITU project was to develop photocatalytic coatings that can eliminate pathogens and be applied on different materials widely used in the automotive industry and in transport in general. The product will make it possible to lower the likelihood of spreading diseases with microorganisms like virus and bacteria. The coatings that will be developed are based on ceramic materials, so they have good mechanical properties and they are chemically stable. In addition, they can be applied to diverse components commonly used in the automotive industry, reducing the need for disinfecting those surfaces using chemical products and, consequently, minimising environmental impact.

The AIN and UPNA-INAMAT2 collaborated on the ARGITU project, and two technologies were worked with  (PVD-Physical Vapour Deposition and Electrospinning), which made it possible to obtain the photocatalytic films.

The results of the ARGITU project achieved the goals initially set. As expected, the technical phases of optimising both simple and combined metal oxide layer deposition were completed successfully. The technologies described in the paper, both PVD and ELECTROSPINNING, were worked with actively. And the characterisation results showed that the coatings not only fulfil the chemical and structural properties initially set forth, but it was possible to show significant activity against viruses and bacteria.