TiO2 is a potent photocatalyst that can break down almost any organic compound it touches when exposed to sunlight in the presence of water vapor. Today, companies are developing a wide range of products that seek to capitalize on this reactivity, including self-cleaning fabrics, auto body finishes, and ceramic tiles.

Also in development is a paving stone that uses the catalytic properties of TiO2 to remove nitrogen oxide from the air, breaking it down into more environmentally benign substances that can then be washed away by rainfall.

Intellectual Property
Current U.S. patents granted that protect the technology include:

The process involves an acid-leaching treatment with hydrochloric or sulfuric acid at 150 to 200 degrees C, followed by a heat treatment process for finishing.

Intellectual Capital
On April 1, 2001, Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology began operations as the “new” AIST.

The new AIST is a research organization that comprises 15 research institutes previously under the former Agency of Industrial Science and Technology in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Weights and Measures Training Institute.

AIST is Japan's largest public research organization with research facilities and more than 3,200 employees across Japan.

One of the inventors, Kumio Kimura, has published extensively on the subject of glass microspheres. For example, see: “Preparation of TiO2-Coated Hollow Glass Microspheres from Titania-Hydrate-Coated Fine Volcanic Glass” by Dae-Yong Shin and Kunio Kimura, Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan, 107:775-779 (No. 9, 1999).

AIST is seeking to license these technologies and assist with their commercialization. A number of investment options are currently under consideration.