Fabrication of antireflective antifogging nano-porous silica thin film on glass substrate by layer-by-layer assembly method

• Silica nano-porous thin films were deposited on glass substrates.
• Silica nano-porous thin film increased transmittance of glass substrate.
• Silica nanoporous thin film decreased water contact angle of glass surface.

In this research, silica nano-porous thin films were deposited on glass substrates by layer-by-layer assembly process. The structure, morphology, surface characteristics, surface roughness, and optical and hydrophilic properties of the thin film were investigated. The X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the silica nano-porous thin film has an amorphous structure. The transmittance spectra revealed that the silica nanoporous thin film increased transparency of the glass substrate from 91.8% to 97% at 550 nm. In addition, the silica nanoporous thin film decreased water contact angle of glass surface from 67° to 3°. Therefore, silica nanoporous thin film showed high transparency and superhydrophilicity which greatly encourage the antireflection and antifogging functions of the thin film.