Photo catalytic self-cleaning materials: Principles and impact on atmosphere

Abstract
This chapter deals with self-cleaning materials which are one of the applications of photocatalysis. The ability of TiO₂ to be activated under UV light allows one to perform oxidation reaction under sunlight. Consequently, since the middle of the ninety’s, many new products for outdoor applications, especially glasses, have been developed and commercialized. However, if photocatalytic principles are still true for them, some new mechanisms intervene and could modify chemical reaction implicated. At last, if the chemical reactions occurring at the surface of such products are well studied at laboratory scale, the researches for their impact on atmosphere only begin.