Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Journal of the European Ceramic Society 30 (2010) 1873–1878 Functionalization of ceramic tile surface by soluble salts addition: Part II. Titanium and silver addition Federica Bondioli a,∗ , Martina Dinelli a , Roberto Giovanardi a , Michele Giorgi b a Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dei Materiali e dell’Ambiente, Via Vignolese 905, 41100 Modena, Italy b METCO srl, Via Galileo Galilei 53, Monteveglio, BO, Italy Received 24 September 2009; received in revised form 25 February 2010; accepted 17 March 2010 Abstract The aim of this study was to assess surface functionalization of industrial ceramic tiles through the addition of soluble salts to improve mechanical properties (scratch and wear resistance) and conductivity, while preserving the aesthetic aspects of the finished product. This objective was pursued through the application of different solutions of titanium and silver with a potential for transformation into titania and silver nanoparticles during the sintering of the material. The solutions, in different concentrations, were applied (300 g/m 2 ) to unglazed green tiles by air brushing. The resulting products were polished and characterized in terms of microstructural, surface micromechanical, and technological properties based on the UNI EN ISO reference standards. The electrical conductivity deriving from the presence of titania and silver was also established with specific tests. The results were found to correlate with the results obtained from the addition of zirconium solutions as reported in part I of the paper. Crown Copyright © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Functionalization; Tile; Silver; Titania; Scratch resistance; Antistatic floor 1. Introduction The development of advanced materials, mainly intended to improve the shapes and mechanical characteristics of structures, is increasingly leading to integration of functions into materi- als and components. This drive in technological innovation is strongly felt in many traditional fields, like textiles or ceram- ics. Over the last 20 years, the so-called “traditional” ceramics industry for tile production has undergone a profound techno- logical reorganization, both in production technologies and the automation of the different production phases, but new products and possible new applications are still needed, thereby opening up new markets. As a contribution to this innovative process the authors are proposing continuous evolution of the aesthet- ics and functionality of products. The work described in this paper is part of a wider project focused on the surface func- tionalization of industrial tiles. This aim is pursued through the design and preparation of nanostructured powders, and innova- tive technologies for the creation of nanostructured materials. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 059 205 6242; fax: +39 059 205 6243. E-mail address: federica.bondioli@unimore.it (F. Bondioli). The development of functionalized surfaces has recently been focused on in nanotechnology, for example, investigating self- cleaning surface using TiO 2 nanoparticles. 1–5 In a recent work, the authors reported the possibility of tile surface functionaliza- tion using a sol–gel technique to improve both wear resistance and cleanability of unglazed surfaces. 6 A TiO 2 –SiO 2 binary film was deposited on fired tiles by air brushing to obtain a photocatalytically active building material, a self-cleaning and self-sterilizing surface that could also degrade several organic contaminants in the surrounding environment by UV radiation activation. Moreover, in part I of this work, 7 the authors showed that the addition of zirconium soluble salts offered an increase in scratch resistance, while maintaining the final aesthetic appear- ance of the resulting tiles. Part II (the present text) assesses the effects of application of different titanium and silver solutions, which can be transformed into titania and silver nanoparticles during the sintering of the material. The idea is to exploit the transparency of nanoparticles to obtain a multifunctional sur- face with a higher degree of sintering than the ceramic body. In addition to the improved mechanical properties expected from the addition of titania, silver solutions were tested to evaluate the possibility of obtaining antistatic materials for flooring in industry, offices, hospitals, computer rooms, etc. The presence 0955-2219/$ – see front matter. Crown Copyright © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2010.03.008