Hydrophilic Silica Thin Films Formed by Acetone treatment for Field assessment PV Soiling Application

Mohammad I. Hossain , Brahim Aissa, Ali G. Kubaisi, Said A. Mansour Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Doha, Qatar

We report on the controlled change of the wetting behavior of silica thin films deposited by a reactive e-beam evaporation. The as deposited films surfaces were treated with acetone solvent using ultrasonic bath followed by characterizing their contact angles. As confirmed by a repeated contact angle measurement, the silica films changed their wetting behavior from super hydrophilic to hydrophilic that we attributed to the creation of OH groups and hydroxylation process. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed the SiOx samples was found to be SiO1.85 and SiO1.91 on glass substrates for non-treated and treated films. Furthermore, these samples were assessed for anti-dust application under outdoor conditions and have demonstrated promising results that pave the way to develop a cost-effective anti-soiling and self-cleaning coating for a large-scale application.