Lowering of Preparation Temperatures of Anatase Nanocrystals‐Dispersed Coatings via Sol–Gel Process with Hot Water Treatment

A longer period of time was necessary to form anatase nanocrystals on silica–titania gel coatings at lower hot water treatment temperature, whereas considerable amounts of anatase nanocrystals were observed even at 38°C after a treatment of 65 h. The coatings pre‐heated at 60°C for 1 h and treated with hot water at 55°C for 15 h showed higher photocatalytic activity for methylene blue bleaching than the coatings prepared under the conditions with higher processing temperature close to 100°C. Such a high photocatalytic activity of the coatings obtained through low processing temperatures can be ascribed to a large specific surface area of the coatings and a smaller crystal size of the precipitated anatase.