Preparation of anti-reflection glass surface with self-cleaning and anti-dust by ammonium hydroxide hydrothermal method

A simple method to prepare glass surface with anti-reflection and self-cleaning by ammonium hydroxide solution hydrothermal process is reported here. The transmittance of glass in visible light is enhanced from 91% to 98% in the wavelength range of 450 similar to 550 nm after the treatment. The maximal increase of transmittance is as high as 7.3% near 500 nm wavelength (double-sided surfaces). Scanning electron microscope results showed that different porous nanostructured layers are formed, including massive bulges, networked irregular nanoflakes and worm-eaten nanoflakes, under different treatment conditions. The thickness of nanostructured layers will increase with the extending of treatment temperature and time. We also demonstrated that the treated glass surface under the optimized condition has not only high light transmittance and superhydrophilicity, but also better anti-dust property.