ZrO2 Coating for Surface Functionalization of Jianshui Purple Pottery: A Sol-Gel Approach with Antibacterial Performance

The surface decoration techniques, such as incising-filling, glaze spraying, wood firing, and secondary low-temperature refiring, etc., have been widely used for traditional potteries, such as Jianshui purple pottery. These surface modifications are mainly for artistic expression, whereas functional surface modification has barely been reported. The development of novel coating materials and processes is an alternative path for the innovation of traditional pottery. However, the surface functional materials often peel or detach from the pottery body after high-temperature sintering. It is thus imperative to develop coating materials and processes with robust adhesion and accommodation for secondary functional materials. Through the screening of different ZrO(OH)2 sols and coating processes, the coating of ZrO(OH)2 sol on the 800 °C baked Jianshui purple pottery achieved uniform and tight surface coating. Reducing the colloidal particle size and particle concentration in the sol, as well as Y3+ doping, is also conductive to the structural stability of the coatings. Additional loading of silver nanoparticles onto the ZrO2 coating layer effectively endows the pottery with antibacterial performance. The coated samples loaded with silver nanoparticles exhibited an antibacterial rate of 32.7% after accelerated desorption, demonstrating potential for functional pottery applications.