Recent advancements in multifunctional applications of sol-gel derived polymer incorporated TiO2-ZrO2 composite coatings: A comprehensive review

Despite the fact that metal oxides have gained a foothold into a range of structural applications over the last decade, their investigation in the field of sensors, supercapacitors, has been limited. Novel sol-gel derived TiO2-ZrO2 composite coatings have recently found lots of applications in industrial as well as scientific world. The present article reviews, scrutinizes and highlights various types of applications of TiO2-ZrO2 coatings, functioning mechanisms and synthesis techniques used globally. Herein, particular emphasis is firstly given to the challenges faced by metal oxides in their performance for different applications. The different synthesis methods for the metal oxide composites and deposition techniques for obtaining corresponding coatings were examined in-depth from the aspects of its merits and demerits. Their distinct characteristics, underlying mechanisms, and possible applications in a variety of fields are highlighted. The literature work also enumerates studies of the surface property towards water and organic dirt may jointly conclude its self-cleaning nature. The review provides an up-to-date account on the different applications such as electrochemical storage, antibacterial effect and photocatalysis for TiO2-ZrO2 coatings. An insightful viewpoint for rational design of binary metal oxide TiO2-ZrO2 towards sensing and capacitance is also provided. The functionalities include better surface area and porosity which facilitates the charge transport and prevention of charge recombination of the synthesized TiO2-ZrO2 composite coatings are thoroughly reviewed. Finally, the prospective uses and future perspectives, along with their scaling capabilities and potential advances of these nanocomposite coatings are examined.