High Performance Thin Film by Wet Process Nano Coating:shiratori’sGroup

The surface of lotus leaves has an uneven structure, which creates a layer of air that repels water. When Seimei Shiratori was a student, he thought this structure could be applied in daily life. So Shiratori started observing the nanoworld. Q.Our research concerns wet process nano-coating and nanotechnology. We fabricate thin films controlled at the nano-level using water or solutions. By making these thin films, we are trying to produce surfaces that are repellent or ultra-repellent to water and oil. By applying technology obtained from nature, its possible to create lotus-leaf surfaces artificially. This technology has already been patented in Japan, under the name Air Coat. Hats, wood, and even newspaper can be made waterproof by spraying Air Coat onto them. In fact, Air Coat is so water-repellent, it even enables a mesh ladle to scoop up water. This ultra-repellence works not only on water, but also on olive oil and synthetic oil. Air Coat can be used to coat any kind of material, so it can be used for car windows, or posters displayed outside. Also, this ultra-repellent coating technology is friendly to the environment. It can be used to make materials that dont get dirty easily, and to prevent deterioration. In addition, the Shiratori Lab is doing research using special solutions to coat plastics with transparent, conductive thin films. Q.For example, touch-panels in mobile phones, PCs, or vending machines are starting to require transparent electrodes. Transparent …
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