Optical and superhydrophilic properties of nanoporous silica-silica nanocomposite thin film

Abstract In this research, nanoporous silica-silica nanocomposite thin film was fabricated by a sol-gel dip coating method on glass substrate. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), UV–VIS–NIR spectrophotometer and water contact angle analyzer were used to characterize the surface composition, morphology, surface roughness, optical and hydrophilic properties of the thin film. The transmittance results indicated that the nanoporous silica-silica nanocomposite thin film enhanced the transmission of the glass substrate. In addition, the nanoporous silica-silica nanocomposite thin film decreased water contact angle of the glass surface from 51 to 2°. The results revealed that the deposition of nanoporous silica-silica nanocomposite thin film on the glass substrate had a significant effect on the antireflection and antifogging properties.