Preparation of Antireflective Silica Coating by the Sol-Gel Method for Heliothermic Power Plants

This work deals with the deposition of a thin layer of porous silica antireflective coating onto glass substrates. The films were deposited with different withdrawal speeds and heat-treated at 425°C for 30 minutes. The effects of heat treatment and film deposition rate on the films reflectance were evaluated. The diffuse reflectance was measured using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for microstructural evaluation of the films. The water contact angle upon the films surface was evaluated using a tensiometer and was based on the sessile dro...