Issue 6, 2013
From the journal:

Energy & Environmental Science

Robust and durable polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-based anti-reflective nanostructures with broadband quasi-omnidirectional properties†

Hemant Kumar Raut,abcd   Saman Safari Dinachali,ac   Ai Yu He,c   V. Anand Ganesh,abcd   Mohammad S. M. Saifullah,*c   Jaslyn Lawc  and  Seeram Ramakrishna*ab  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117574, Republic of Singapore
E-mail: seeram@nus.edu.sg

b Centre for Nanofibres and Nanotechnology, National University of Singapore, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative, 2 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576, Republic of Singapore

c Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602, Republic of Singapore
E-mail: saifullahm@imre.a-star.edu.sg

d Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117574, Republic of Singapore

Abstract

Polymer-based anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) on glass pose major challenges for outdoor photovoltaic applications due to their incompatible mechanical and thermal properties. Here we demonstrate durable, chemically and thermally stable polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-based (POSS) anti-reflective moth's eye nanostructures on glass fabricated by double-side nanoimprint lithography. These anti-reflective nanostructures exhibited excellent broadband and quasi-omnidirectional anti-reflective properties. An optimum resist composition for nanoimprinting was obtained by mixing a methacryl POSS cage mixture with 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate in a 1 : 12 molar ratio. Thermal free radical co-polymerization during nanoimprint lithography produced a uniform array of moth's eye nanostructures on both sides of a glass substrate with yields ∼90 to 100%. The transmittance of the resulting glass was enhanced to 98.2% (reflectance 1.26%) with excellent quasi-omnidirectional transmittance observed from −50° to +50° of angles of incidence. Furthermore, a series of ASTM-based tests on the imprinted ARC structures showed strong adherence to glass, better hardness and mechanical strength with superior chemical and thermal stability, thus suggesting their strong potential for commercial applications.

Graphical abstract: Robust and durable polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-based anti-reflective nanostructures with broadband quasi-omnidirectional properties

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3EE24037A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Nov 2012
Accepted
12 Apr 2013
First published
12 Apr 2013

Energy Environ. Sci., 2013,6, 1929-1937

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Robust and durable polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-based anti-reflective nanostructures with broadband quasi-omnidirectional properties

H. K. Raut, S. S. Dinachali, A. Y. He, V. A. Ganesh, M. S. M. Saifullah, J. Law and S. Ramakrishna, Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, 6, 1929 DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24037A

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