| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78840 | Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells | 2011 | 7 Pages |
Sol-gel SiO2 anti-reflection (AR) coating on solar glass is known to increase the current output by a few percent, but its mechanical durability is of concern. To improve its strength, the amorphous SiO2 may be replaced by zeolite, which is a microporous aluminosilicate crystalline material. Scratch-resistant AR coating has been prepared by the dip coating of a composition which contains aggregated zeolite nanoparticles as the structure provider and zeolite precursors as the reactive binder. AR coating with better than 5H pencil hardness can be made with a composition containing BEA zeolite. Nanoindenter measurements show that this BEA zeolite films have 1.5 GPa indent hardness and 35 GPa elastic modulus. Furthermore, the freshly prepared AR coating shows a self-cleaning effect with a water contact angle (WCA) close to zero. It can be made super-hydrophobic with larger than 130° WCA after modifying with hexamethyl-disilazane (HMDS), upon which the pencil hardness further increases to 6H.
Graphical AbstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights► Scratch resistant AR coating prepared from aggregated zeolite BEA nanocrystals. ► Better than 5H pencil hardness and <1% average reflectance. ► Indent-hardness > 1.5 GPa and elastic modulus >35 GPa. ► Water contact angle changes from ∼0° to 130° after hydrophobization.
