Development of sustainable solutions to mitigate bird collisions on glasses

• Grant number: 21/14878-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Nalin
• Grantee: Victor Chad Paiva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07793-6 - CEPIV - Center for Teaching, Research and Innovation in Glass, AP.CEPID

Abstract

This project aims to study sustainable solutions and obtain technology to be used in obtaining coating for glass used in civil construction. A very serious problem that has been neglected, both by glass industries around the globe and by civil construction companies, refers to the great mortality of birds due to collisions with glass surfaces, which can occur in large buildings, sheds, houses, and walls, etc. This project aims to the fundamental study of sustainable solutions, through the development of thin films that can be applied to commercial glass surfaces, using techniques such as electron bean or sputtering and that do not cause problems from an architectural point of view, nor increase too much in the cost of production. Among the materials listed as candidates, we can highlight the semiconductor oxides with an absorption range in the region between 300 and 400 nm. This prerequisite is necessary since the maximum sensitivity of bird vision is in this spectral range and not in the visible region, as in the case of humans. The films will be characterized mainly from an optical point of view in the UV-Vis region and regarding their properties of adhesion to substrates. (AU)