Optimal Optical Properties–Hardness Ratio of Antireflection Coating Produced from a Silica Sol with Hexadecyltrimethylammonium Bromide on Silicate Glass

The effect of the hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide concentration in the silica sol, which is used to obtain antireflection coatings over silicate glass, on the light transmission of coated glass and the hardness of the coatings was studied. An increase in the concentration of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide in the sol from 1.37 × 10–2 to 5.20 × 10–2 M increases the maximum light transmission of glass with an antireflective coating from 94.7 to 99.0%, and minimum, from 84.7 to 93.6%, reduces the refractive index of the coating from 1.43 up to 1.27. The 3H–4H coating hardness acceptable for practice can be achieved provided that the maximum light transmission of glass with a single-layer double-sided coating is ≤96.0–97.0%, the refractive index of the antireflection coating is ≥1.35–1.36, and the maximum volume content of nanopores in the coating is not more than 20.0–23.0 vol % .