Superhydrophilic TEOS/PF-127 based antireflection coating for solar and optical applications

• Published in: Optical materials Vol. 118; p. 111246
• Main Authors: Swathi, R., Shanthi, J., Anoop, K.K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Antireflection; Mechanical stability; Refractive index; Superhydrophilicity; Surface roughness; Surface roughness; Mechanical stability; Antireflection; Refractive index; Superhydrophilicity
• ISSN: 0925-3467; 1873-1252
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2021.111246

Antireflection coating plays a crucial role in many optical and solar devices, by minimizing the reflection of incident light from the front surface. Here in this work, the preparation of antireflection coating along with super wetting property was reported. TEOS/PF-127 based sol prepared was deposited on cleaned glass substrate using spin coating technique. To get high transmittance, the refractive index of the coating was tuned by the optimization of the polymeric porogen. Mathematical models are also used to calculate the optical performance of the coated substrate. The AR coating deposited on glass substrate shows the transmittance of 94.9% in UV–Visible radiation and 94.3% in solar radiation. The water contact angle of the transparent film was found to be 9° exhibiting superhydrophilic property. The present work provides a simple cost-effective method to enhance the optical transparency of glass up to 4% along with super wetting property. [Display omitted] •TEOS/PF-127 based antireflection coating was prepared via sol-gel method.•The prepared film enhances the optical transparency of bare glass around 4%.•The coated film showed superhydrophilic nature with a contact angle of 9°.•The coated film exhibits good mechanical stability.