Facile synthesis of fluorine-free, hydrophobic, and highly transparent coatings for self-cleaning applications

Non-fluorinated coatings have recently emerged as a new approach to avoid contamination on transparent surfaces. This research work concerns the synthesis of highly transparent, hydrophobic, durable, and self-cleaning coatings as an alternative to fluorine-based coatings used on glass. The developed coating is produced by a chemical route (sol–gel method) using two silica-based precursors, hexamethyldisilazane, and tetraethoxysilane (HMDS/TEOS). Then, the prepared Gel HMDS/TEOS was deposited on glass slides by the dip-coating technique. Afterward, the effects of mechanical durability, water-drop testing, thermal cycling testing, and aging times on the hydrophobicity of the gel were analyzed. The properties of the coating were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV–VIS-NIR spectrophotometry, and contact angle measurement. The results show that the organic modification of the gel by trimethylsilyl (–Si–(CH3)3) groups leads to a homogeneous and a hydrophobic surface. Sufficient dilution of this gel with ethanol has been found to provide a highly transparent coating without losing its hydrophobic property. In addition, the robust and durable coating exhibits high self-cleaning performance suitable for various industrial applications.