Transparent superhydrophobic film with anti-fouling and anti-scaling ability by facile method of dip-coating SiO2 Sol

In the past decades, the studies of materials with transparency and durable superhydrophobicity have captured much attention because of the versatile uses in outdoor glass wall, automobile windshield and solar panel. In this paper, a superhydrophobic and transparent SiO2 film with transmittance over 44% was obtained on glass substrate with a facile method of dip-coating without further modification. The contact angle and sliding angle of water droplet on the superhydrophobic film is 163.1 degrees and 4 degrees, respectively. The results reveal the performance of superhydrophobicity originates from the synergistic effects of rough SiO2 structures and hydrophobic alkyl with low surface energy. The SiO2 coating exhibits self-cleaning ability, anti-fouling property and anti-scaling performances. Furthermore, the SiO2 coatings have good thermal stability and resistance ability to acid and base. The techniques adopted here have the advantage of simple process, low cost and fluorine-free treatment, which may provide an useful reference for the preparation of transparent and superhydrophobic film in practice.