Rational Design and Construction of Well-Organized Macro-Mesoporous SiO2/TiO2 Nanostructure toward Robust High-Performance Self-Cleaning Antireflective Thin Films

Abstract

Antireflection (AR) thin films on optical substrates are of great significance in high-performance optoelectronic devices. Here, we present a rational design and construction of well-organized macro-mesoporous nanostructure toward robust high-performance self-cleaning antireflective thin films on the basis of effective medium theory and finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations that combine the optical design principle. A hierarchical macro-mesoporous SiO2 thin film with very high porosity and gradient refractive indexes works as a λ/4-wavelength AR layer and significantly suppresses the reflection in the range from 350 to 1200 nm. Even after dip-coating a layer of high refractive index TiO2 nanocrystals, the nanostructured thin film still exhibits broadband AR properties which are much superior to conventional flat SiO2/TiO2 thin films, especially in the range of 350-500 nm. In addition, the obtained thin film exhibits photocatalytic self-cleaning and durable superhydrophilicity. The advantages brought by the well-organized macro-mesoporous structure are also testified through comparing to the solely mesoporous SiO2/TiO2 film counterpart. Moreover, the pencil hardness test and sandpaper abrasion test show favorable robustness and functional durability of the thin film, which make it extremely attractive for practical applications in optical devices, display devices, and photovoltaic cells.