Ceramics-Silikáty 57 (3) 210-214 (2013)

TRANSPARENT SUPERHYDROPHILIC SiO₂/TiO₂/SiO₂ TRI-LAYER NANOSTRUCTURED ANTIFOGGING THIN FILM

SiO₂/TiO₂/SiO₂ thin films were deposited on glass substrates using an electron beam physical vapor deposition technique. The structure, morphology, surface composition, surface roughness, optical properties, and hydrophilic properties of the thin film were investigated. The structure measurement shows that only anatase phase was exhibited in the thin film. In the TiO₂ thin film, the crystals nucleated from the thin films was homogeneous and the average crystalline sizes were 35 nm. The transmittance spectra of the films revealed transparency in the visible region of the spectrum. SiO₂/TiO₂/SiO₂ thin film showed better hydrophilicity under irradiation and storage in comparison to SiO₂/TiO₂ thin film. SiO₂/TiO₂/SiO₂ tri-layer thin film showed superhydrophilicity which greatly encourages the antifogging function of the film.

Keywords: Thin films, Vapor deposition, Optical properties, antifogging effect