Sol-gel preparation of moisture-resistant antireflective coatings from novel hollow silica nanoparticles

In this study, a simple approach was developed to prepare hollow silica nanoparticles (HSNs) sols via a one-step base-catalyzed sol-gel process using methyltriethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilicate as co-precursors. The prepared sols were suitable for large-area processing with ease of antireflective (AR) coating and being directly applicable without requiring any pre- or post-treatment. AR coatings were dip coated on K9 glasses from these sols. Furthermore, AR coatings were intrinsically hydrophobic with static water contact angles up to 126.5A degrees on the smooth K9 glass. A particle growth mechanism of the hybrid HSNs was proposed, and the relationship between the microstructure of HSNs and the properties of AR coatings was investigated. These AR coatings with relatively excellent AR properties and improved moisture resistance were useful in solar cells, low-cost electronics, and optical devices. [GRAPHICS]