Silica Coatings: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Silica coatings/films applied for protecting various surfaces (i.e., glasses, plastics, PVC, metals, ceramics, textiles, paper, and wood) have captured great interest in both academia and industry,  because of their properties, such as anti-icing to anti-fouling, low-adhesion, anisotropic wetting, structural color, anti-reflection, self-cleaning, and anticorrosion.

The most important methods for the preparation and deposition of silica coatings/films are chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, electron beam evaporation, sol–gel processes, electrochemical deposition, and layer-by-layer assembly plus phase, which are necessary in order to obtain transparent, antireflective, hydrophobic, or super-hydrophobic coatings/films. These methods are used because of their low cost, high efficiency, good uniformity, and easy treatment of large and complex shape substrates under different conditions.

Various techniques, including SEM and TEM microscopy; AFM, FTIR, and UV-VIS spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; and contact angle measurements are regularly used to investigate the physico-chemical properties of silica coatings/films, the morphology and microstructure of silica  materials, the functional groups present in the silica materials, the effects of surface roughness,  and the chemical composition of the coatings on the wettability properties.

Coatings based on silica materials have gained significant popularity in different applications, such as solar panels, light sensors, integrated optical circuits, micro-electronic memories, and optical devices.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the synthesis, characterization, and applications of silica coatings.

Dr. Simona Cǎprǎrescu
Guest Editor

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