Structural strengthening of the nano porous silica films has been reported. The films were prepared with a base/acid two-step catalyzed TEOS-based sol-gel processing and dip-coating, and then baked in the mixed gas of ammonia and water vapor. The silica films were characterized with TEM, AFM, FTIR, spectrophotometer, ellipsometer, and abrasion test, respectively. The experimental results have shown that the films have a nanostructure with a low refractive index and can form an excellent scratch-resistant broadband anti-reflectance. The two-step catalysis noticeably strengthens the films, and the mixed gas treatment further improves mechanical strength of the silica network. Finally the strengthening mechanism has been discussed.
Guangming WU, Jun SHEN, Tianhe YANG, Bin ZHOU and Jue WANGPohl Institute of Solid State Physics, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Transparent mixed phase (1 - x)V2O5-xTiO2 (x=0,01,0.2,0.3,0.4) thin films were prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass via sol-gel process. The films were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, optical spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, IR and X-ray diffractometer. Electrochemical lithium insertion/extraction showed that the porous structure of sol-gel (1 - x)V2O5-xTiO2 thin films exhibited good recharge ability of Li+/e- insertion/extraction process. For a 220 nm thick (1 - x)V2O5-xTiO2 film with 90% V2O5, the capacity of charge exchange reached 9 mC/cm2. In both Li+ intercalated and free states, the films were highly transparent to visible light. Such films have potential applications in counter electrodes for electrochromic smart windows and other electrochemical devices.
