Method for producing a self decontaminating surface

A method for producing a self decontaminating surface to decontaminate chemical and biological contaminants that are deposited on the surface and decontaminatable through reaction with free hydroxyl radicals. The method first includes determination of a surface to be treated and which is exposable to ultraviolet light. Second, a coating of nanoparticles of a transition metal oxide, non-limitedly exemplified by anatase titanium dioxide, is applied to the chosen surface. Application of the coating is accomplished by spraying heated nanoparticles or clusters thereof from a feed stock onto the surface to form a nanoparticle coating, with the nanoparticles being at a temperature of at least about 750° C. upon exit from a spray apparatus and of a size between about 5 nm and 100 nm. Finally, the treated surface is exposed to ultraviolet light and water moisture, either naturally from the environment or artifically, to thereby catalytically form free hydroxyl radicals that thereafter react with the contaminants to render them generally harmless.