Anti-fogging and anti-reflective silica nanofibrous film fabricated by seedless flame method

Here we report a multifunctional SiO2 nanofibrous film fabricated on plain glass by the seedless flame spray pyrolysis method. The SiO2 nanowires show different morphologies as growth time increase due to the alteration of gas precursor diffusion conditions. The growth route of nanowires has been divided into several stages due to the different dominant growth type. The densification and overlapping caused by radial and axial growth in competitive relation endow the as-made SiO2 films with increased surface area and sub-wavelength scale structure. Combining the hydrophilicity of flame-made SiO2 and the special fibrous structure, the nanofibrous SiO2 film exhibits considerable anti-fogging and anti-reflective properties. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.