Research Project Details
Antimicrobial Wall Paint
The research team at griwecolor GmbH, together with other partners from industry and research, has succeeded in developing an antimicrobial and self-cleaning wall paint.
Antimicrobial wall paints significantly reduce the risk of infection, particularly in public facilities and hospitals. The wall paints used so far have been equipped with active substances such as silver ions and silver nanoparticles, which lose their antimicrobial effect after a certain period of time. The active substances are used up and can therefore no longer attack and kill viruses. In addition, such wall paints release their active substances into the environment, which can lead to considerable environmental damage.
The effectiveness of the newly developed antimicrobial wall paint is based on a photocatalyst, which participates in the reaction but is not consumed. This means that the coating is permanently effective without releasing harmful substances into the environment.
The great innovation in this project was that photocatalysis can be iniciated not only by sunlight, but also by an artificial light source. The wall paint therefore has an antimicrobial effect, especially indoors. The semiconductor titanium dioxide is put into an excited condition by the light. The titanium dioxide transfers the energy it receives to the water and oxygen molecules in the air. Unstable radicals are formed, which destroy the outer skin of the viruses on contact and thus kill the viruses.
In field tests, the newly researched antimicrobial wall paint was applied to walls in two hospitals and a kindergarten. Swabs were taken from the walls at regular intervals and examined microbiologically for germs. The result was clear, as no germs were detectable.
In addition to viruses and bacteria, dirt also has no chance on the newly researched paint. In investigations, the wall paint was contaminated with various substances such as blood, red wine, mustard or coffee. After an exposure time of five or 30 minutes, the substances could be removed by wiping once without leaving large visible stains. After one week, the intensity of the still visible stains decreased significantly and most of the stains disappeared completely seven days later.
The antimicrobial wall paint was developed by the project team in the research project “Interior coatings with antiviral effect through the use of photocatalytically active coatings with high long-term durability that can be activated in the visible area” (InVisiBL).
In addition to the photocatalytic activity, the Fraunhofer IPA also determined the VOC degradation of the active wall paint. These values also exceed all known reference paints that also advertise photocatalysis.
The antiviral and antimicrobial effect of our paint was confirmed by a newly established test procedure of the microbiological laboratory Dr. Michael Lohmeyer in Muenster.
The field tests were carried out at the St. Marien Catholic Kindergarten in Doeggingen (GER), at the Oberschwabenklinik in Ravensburg and at the Graubuenden Cantonal Hospital in Chur (CH) together with our project partner IBT.