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Description
Soda-lime-silica glass is commonly used in both industrial and household settings due to its transparency, chemical resistance, availability and environmental friendliness. Enhancing the glass surface hydrophobic properties is sometimes necessary, as in the case of self-cleaning surfaces. This study investigates the surface modification of soda-lime-silica glass using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), dissolved in wet toluene (water/toluene) and employing dip-coating method.
Several techniques and methods were used in the investigation of the modified glass surface: specular reflectance FTIR spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, obtainment of the isoelectric point using streaming potential, and AFM microscopy.
Our findings demonstrate successful functionalization of soda-lime-silica glass surface and formation of siloxane film using TEOS as precursor. The obtained film possess specific morphology, producing high water contact angle close to 90 and thus close to being hydrophobic. This result shows how the surface film design and properties might depend not only on the silane, but also on the solvent used.
