Preparation of SnO2-SiO2 film with high transmittance and strong dust-removing by sol-gel

Abstract

High transmittance and strong dust-removing film has a broad potential application prospect in architectural glass, solar photovoltaic glass, automotive glass, etc. In this paper, SnO2 is used as the antistatic agent, and SiO2 as the matrix. The effects of Sn/Si molar ratio on the structure and properties of the SnO2-SiO2 film prepared on quartz glass substrate with sol-gel dipping were studied. The film was analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ultraviolet-Visible-Near Infrared Spectrometer (UV–VIS–NIR) and Hall effect instrument tested the photoelectric properties. Falling dust experiment was used to determine the film’s dust-removing property. The results show that the SnO2-SiO2 film is composed of nano particles of SnO2 tetragonal rutile phase and amorphous SiO2, and has antistatic dust-removing property. With the increase of Sn/Si molar ratio, the crystallization quality and average grain size of the film increases, while the square resistance decreases continuously. The visible transmittance fluctuates with an amplitude of no more than 1.2%, and obtained the minimum value 87.246% at Sn/Si molar ratio of 2:1. Moreover, the film’s dust-removing performance improves continuously, which obtained the best, 50%, at Sn/Si molar ratio of 2:1.