When I sat down to write this post I realized that it’s the 100th installment of materials information that I have submitted to the Interwebs, which, if this were a sitcom, would mean that I’d have a sheet cake with “Congratulations – 100 Posts!!!!” written in frosting set set out on a table, and the key grip would be elbowing the best boy out of the way for the corner piece with the biggest frosted rose on it.

Image courtesy ursulinesmsj.org

But since there’s no cake, I’m going to write about a new metal panel product coated with, you guessed it: titanium dioxide.  Bonding this chemical to various materials is a growing trend in green building (read about ceramic tiles coated with TiO₂ here) because it’s thought to break down organic matter, SOx (sulphur oxides), and NOx (nitrogen oxides) – the primary component of smog.

Image courtesy ecoclean.com

Alcoa Architectural products has developed a process of applying a titanium dioxide coating called “EcoClean” (the green product naming equivalent of SuperAwesomeAmazingPerfectSauce) to the pre-painted aluminum surface of their Reynobond aluminum panels. As a consequence of the TiO₂ coating, the panels are self-cleaning and break down everything from bird droppings to harmful pollutants.

Image courtesy ecoclean.com

The panels actively remove pollutants from the air in the presence of water and sunlight.  Free radicals generated by the titanium dioxide oxidize the NOx molecules and render them harmless.  Rain washes all said harmless dirt and crud right off the panels, meaning lower maintenance costs for owners and a cleaner image for the building over time (architect is happy! yay!).

Image courtesy ecoclean.com

According to the product literature, installing TiO₂ coated panels “on your building can have approximately enough cleansing power to offset the smog created by the pollution output of four cars every day, which is the approximate air cleansing power of 80 trees every day” (Source: Ecoclean.com).

WU XING:

I am filing this under metal because of the aluminum panels and water because it’s a necessary ingredient for the process to work.