Study on sodium water glass-based anti-reflective film and its application in dye-sensitized solar cells

• Anti-reflective films are prepared from sodium water glass.
• Transmittance of anti-reflective film is increased by 3.2%.
• Efficiency of dye-sensitized cell is improved by anti-reflective film.

In this paper, anti-reflective (AR) films are prepared from sodium water glass with a simple dip-coating method. The effects of SiO2/Na2O molar ratio, concentration of water glass, and withdrawal speed on the anti-reflection performance of the AR films are systematically studied. The optimized AR film is further applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The optical properties and surface morphology of AR films are analyzed by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope, and atomic force microscope. Transmittance of the glass coated with sodium water glass-based AR film is increased by 3.2% when the SiO2/Na2O molar ratio, concentration, and withdrawal speed equal to 3.8, 5 wt%, and 80 mm/min, respectively. Under this condition, the thickness of the AR film is 127 nm and the AR film has obvious porous structure. In addition, the power conversion efficiency of DSC coated by AR film is increased from 7.92% to 8.24%, compared with the DSC without AR film.