The invention relates to a process for obtaining a material comprising a substrate coated on at least one part of at least one of its faces with at least one functional layer, said process comprising: a step of depositing the or each functional layer, then a step of depositing a sacrificial layer on said at least one functional layer, then a step of heat treatment by means of radiation chosen from laser radiation or radiation from at least one flash lamp, said radiation having at least one treatment wavelength between 200 and 2500 nm, said sacrificial layer being in contact with the air during this heat treatment step, then a step of removing the sacrificial layer using a solvent, said sacrificial layer being a monolayer and being such that, before heat treatment, it absorbs at least one part of said radiation at said at least one treatment wavelength and that, after heat treatment, it is capable of being removed by dissolution and/or dispersion in said solvent.

Superhydrophilic and antifogging non-porous TiO.sub.2 films for glass substrates and methods of providing the TiO.sub.2 films are provided. The TiO.sub.2 films may maintain a water contact angle less than 5 in the dark for five days after an annealing treatment, and the water contact angle of the TiO.sub.2 films may stabilize at less than 20 after ten days from the annealing treatment. The TiO.sub.2 films may have a thickness of about 20 nm and may be transparent. The methods may include depositing a TiO.sub.2 film on a glass substrate using e-beam evaporation. The methods may further include annealing the TiO.sub.2 film after depositing the TiO.sub.2 film on the glass substrate. The methods may not include UV radiation.

A method for forming a self-cleaning coating, comprises providing a first dispersion comprising plasmonic nanoparticles by suspending plasmonic nanoparticles in an organic medium and providing a second dispersion comprising a precursor of a photocatalytic matrix in an organic medium. The method further comprises forming a mixture of the first and second dispersion and coating the mixture on a surface. The method also comprises calcining the coated mixture.

The invention provides a glass sheet or another transparent substrate on which there is provided a static-dissipative coating. The static-dissipative coating includes a film comprising titania. The film comprising titania preferably is exposed so as to define an outermost face of the static-dissipative coating. The static-dissipative coating is characterized by an indoor dust collection factor of less than 0.145.

Superhydrophilic and antifogging non-porous TiO.sub.2 films for glass substrates and methods of providing the TiO.sub.2 films are provided. The TiO.sub.2 films may maintain a water contact angle less than 5 in the dark for five days after an annealing treatment, and the water contact angle of the TiO.sub.2 films may stabilize at less than 20 after ten days from the annealing treatment. The TiO.sub.2 films may have a thickness of about 20 nm and may be transparent. The methods may include depositing a TiO.sub.2 film on a glass substrate using e-beam evaporation. The methods may further include annealing the TiO.sub.2 film after depositing the TiO.sub.2 film on the glass substrate. The methods may not include UV radiation.

Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to coated articles including noble metal (e.g., Ag) and polymeric hydrogenated diamond like carbon (DLC) (e.g., a-C:H, a-C:H:O) composite material having antibacterial and photocatalytic properties, and/or methods of making the same. A glass substrate supports a buffer layer, a matrix comprising the noble metal and DLC, a proton-conducting layer that may comprising zirconium oxide in certain example embodiments, and a layer comprising titanium oxide. The layer comprising titanium oxide may be photocatalytic and optionally may further include carbon and/or nitrogen. The proton-conducting layer may facilitate the creation of electron-hole pairs and, in turn, promote the antibacterial properties of the coated article. The morphology of the layer comprising titanium oxide and/or channels formed therein may enable Ag ions produced from matrix to migrate therethrough.

The invention provides a glass sheet or another transparent substrate on which there is provided a static-dissipative coating. The static-dissipative coating includes a film comprising titania. The film comprising titania preferably is exposed so as to define an outermost face of the static-dissipative coating. The static-dissipative coating is characterized by an indoor dust collection factor of less than 0.145.

Superhydrophilic and antifogging non-porous TiO.sub.2 films for glass substrates and methods of providing the TiO.sub.2 films are provided. The TiO.sub.2 films may maintain a water contact angle less than 5 in the dark for five days after an annealing treatment, and the water contact angle of the TiO.sub.2 films may stabilize at less than 20 after ten days from the annealing treatment. The TiO.sub.2 films may have a thickness of about 20 nm and may be transparent. The methods may include depositing a TiO.sub.2 film on a glass substrate using e-beam evaporation. The methods may further include annealing the TiO.sub.2 film after depositing the TiO.sub.2 film on the glass substrate. The methods may not include UV radiation.

A photocatalytic device includes one transparent or translucent carrier and at least one photocatalytic film. The carrier is in the form of a sheet with two opposite surface. At least one of the two surfaces of the carrier is at least partially coated with the photocatalytic film. The photocatalytic film is photocatalytic activated by visible light with wavelength>400 nm for providing the antibacterial functionality. In some situation, only the outer surface of the carrier is coated with the photocatalytic film. In other situation, only the inner surface of the carrier is coated with the photocatalytic film. There are situations where both surfaces of the carrier are coated with the photocatalytic film. The carrier has an attaching mechanism for attaching the carrier to the external solid object, and the carrier is attachable to and detachable from the external solid object hands of a user without using a tool.

Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to techniques for converting sputter-deposited TiNx or TiOxNy layers into TiOx layers via activation with electromagnetic radiation. An intermediate layer including TiOxNy, 0<y1 is formed on a substrate. The intermediate layer is exposed to the radiation, which is preferentially absorbed by the intermediate layer in an amount sufficient to heat the intermediate layer to a temperature of 500-650 degrees C. while keeping the substrate at a significantly lower temperature. A flash light operated with a series of millisecond or sub-millisecond length pulses may be used in this regard. The converting removes nitrogen from, and introduces oxygen into, the intermediate layer, causing the layer to expand beyond its initial thickness. At least some of the final layer may have an anatase phase, and it may be photocatalytic. These layers may be used in low-maintenance glass, antireflective, and/or other applications.