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

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.