Effect of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG10000) Content on the Optical Properties and Wettability of SiO2 Thin Films

DAI Chengcheng; XIANG Junhuai; WANG Jun; BAI Lingyun; ZHOU Shuanglin; WU Jiayi

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.08.017

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Surface Technology ›› 2026, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (8) : 208-216. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.08.017

Functional Surfaces and Technology

Effect of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG10000) Content on the Optical Properties and Wettability of SiO₂ Thin Films

DAI Chengcheng^a, XIANG Junhuai^a,b,*, WANG Jun^a,b,*, BAI Lingyun^a,b, ZHOU Shuanglin^a, WU Jiayi^a

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Abstract

Preparation of anti-reflection films on the solar cell cover glass is an important method to increase photoelectric conversion efficiency. SiO₂ anti-reflection films prepared by acid catalyzed sol-gel method are a potential material due to their low refraction, excellent chemical stability and good mechanical properties. However, the anti-reflection property should be further improved. Increasing the porosity of SiO₂ thin films by organic polymers is expected to improve the transmittance. In this work, polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified SiO₂ films were prepared on glass substrates by sol-gel dip coating method. The properties of PEG-SiO₂ sols were investigated by absorption spectrum. The results showed that SiO₂ sols with different PEG contents were transparent and stable. With the increasing PEG content in SiO₂ sols, the intensity of PEG characteristic absorption peak increased, indicating that PEG was uniformly dispersed in SiO₂ sols. The effect of PEG content on the microstructure of SiO₂ was analyzed by thermogravimeric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and infrared spectrometer (IR). The PEG in SiO₂ sols was completely decomposed after heat treatment. The structure of SiO₂heat-treated at 500 ℃ with and without PEG was amorphous. The addition of PEG did not significantly affect the structure of SiO₂. The surface morphology of the PEG-SiO₂ film was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface of the PEG-SiO₂ film was uniform, with fine grain size and low roughness. The transmittance spectrum of the PEG-SiO₂ film in the wavelength of 190-1 100 nm with different incident angles was measured through an ultraviolet visible near-infrared spectrophotometer. The average transmittance and maximum transmittance of glass coated SiO₂ or PEG-SiO₂ films at the wavelength of 380-1 100 nm were higher than that of the uncoated glass, which indicated that both SiO₂ and PEG-SiO₂ films had good anti-reflection properties. Among them, the 20% PEG-SiO₂ film had the best anti-reflection property. The average transmittance of the 20% PEG-SiO₂ film was 91.61% at the wavelength of 380-1 100 nm with 0^o incidence, which was 3.37% higher than that of the uncoated glass (88.24%). The average transmittance and maximum transmittance of the uncoated glass and the film coated glass at the wavelength of 380-1 100 nm decreased with the increasing of the incident angle. When the incident angle was 45^o, the average transmittance of the 20% PEG-SiO₂ film was 87.06%, which was 5.92% higher than that of the uncoated glass (81.14%). The optical properties test results indicated that the PEG-SiO₂ film had broadband large angle anti-reflection. To study the wettability of the uncoated glass and the film coated glass, the static water contact angle was tested by the contact angle tester. The water contact angle of the glass was 49.03^o, which was 5^o lower than that of the coated PEG-SiO₂ film. The surface wettability of the glass changed from hydrobility to superhydrobility after film preparation. To evaluate anti-fogging property, the sample was placed 5 cm above the 100 ℃ hot water. The surface condition of the sample was recorded after 5 seconds. The SiO₂ and PEG-SiO₂ had good anti-fogging properties, which might be related to the superhydrobility property of the film coated glass and the condensed water droplets spread into water film, thereby avoiding light scattering. The PEG modified SiO₂ film has broadband large angle anti-reflection and super hydrophilic antifogging properties, which has potential applications in solar cells, optical sensors and display devices.

Key words

sol-gel / SiO₂ / PEG / optical property / wettability

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DAI Chengcheng, XIANG Junhuai, WANG Jun, BAI Lingyun, ZHOU Shuanglin, WU Jiayi. Effect of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG10000) Content on the Optical Properties and Wettability of SiO₂ Thin Films[J]. Surface Technology. 2026, 55(8): 208-216

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Funding

Science and Technology Research Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (GJJ2401209); Open Fund of Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Surface Engineering （2024KFJJ18）; National-level College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program Supported Project of Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University (202511318023)