Thermal Spraying Process with Colloidal Suspension

Simple SummaryContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

This invention describes a thermal coating process, specifically a plasma spraying method, for depositing thin layers of conductive or semiconductive materials such as titanium dioxide onto substrates using a colloidal suspension. The process enables the creation of very thin, nanostructured, porous coatings that are particularly suitable for use in photovoltaic devices, like dye-sensitized solar cells, by employing a suspension of ultra-fine particles in a thermal spray system. It allows manufacturing of functional coatings even on temperature-sensitive substrates.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Manufacture of high-efficiency dye-sensitized (Grätzel) solar cells with optimized nanostructured TiO2 layers.
• Coating of glass, plastic, or fiber-reinforced substrates with conductive or semiconductive thin films for use in electronics and photovoltaics.
• Fabrication of thin, porous, semiconductor or conductor layers for sensors and optoelectronic devices.
• Production of advanced electrodes for batteries or supercapacitors where high surface area is advantageous.
• Formation of catalytic or functional coatings on substrates for chemical processing or filtering applications.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enables very thin, uniform, and highly porous coatings with controlled nanostructure, enhancing performance in applications like photovoltaics.
• Allows cost-effective, scalable, and rapid production of functional coatings in a single step.
• Compatible with temperature-sensitive substrates, such as plastics and certain types of glass, due to reduced thermal load compared to traditional sintering methods.
• Provides flexibility in selecting coating compositions (including various metal oxides), enabling application-specific optimization.
• Achieves high specific surface area in coatings, which is beneficial for photovoltaic efficiency, catalysis, and sensing applications.

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Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a thermal coating method, especially a plasma spraying method, for coating a substrate with a conductor or a semiconductor, especially with titanium dioxide, using a colloid dispersion. The invention also relates to a photovoltaic layer structure and to the use thereof.