Gold-painted stained glass purify air

Melbourne, Aug 23: Here's an advice to "purify"

your home, sweet home -- get the windows fitted with stained

glass with a golden touch.

A new study by a team at the Queensland University

of Technology has revealed that stained glass windows that are

painted with gold nanoparticles purify the air when they ...

"For centuries people appreciated only the beautiful

works of art, and long life of the colours, but little did

they realise that these works of art are also, in modern

language, photocatalytic air purifier with nanostructured gold

catalyst," lead researcher Zhu Huai Yong said.

According to the researchers, tiny particles of gold,

energised by the sun, are able to destroy air-borne pollutants

like volatile organic chemical (VOCs), which may often come

from new furniture, carpets and paint in good condition.

"These VOCs create that 'new' smell as they are

slowly released from walls and furniture, but they, along with

methanol and carbon monoxide, are not good for your health,

even in small amounts.

"Gold, when in very small particles, becomes

very active under sunlight.

sunlight can couple with the oscillations of the electrons in

the gold particles and creates a resonance.

"The magnetic field on the surface of the gold

nanoparticles can be enhanced by up to hundred times, which

breaks apart the pollutant molecules in the air," Zhu said.

He explained the by-product was carbon dioxide, which

was comparatively safe, particularly in the small amounts that

would be created through this process.

solar-powered, and is very energy efficient, because only the

particles of gold heat up.