Reaction-Based Scalable Inorganic Patterning on Rigid and Soft Substrates for Photovoltaic Roofs with Minimal Optical Loss and Sustainable Sunlight-Driven-Cleaning Windows

Abstract

Recently developed fabrication methods for inorganic patterns (such as laser printing and optical lithography) can avoid some patterning processes conducted by conventional etching and lithography (such as substrate etching and modulation) and are thereby useful for applications in which the substrates and materials must not be damaged during patterning. Simultaneously, it is also necessary to develop facile and economical methods producing inorganic patterns on various substrates without requiring a special apparatus while attaining the above-mentioned advantages. The present study proposes a reaction-based method for fabricating inorganic patterns by immersing substrates coated with a colloidal nanosheet into an aqueous solution containing inorganic precursors. Silica and TiO 2 patterns spontaneously developed during the conversion of each inorganic precursor. These patterns were successful on rigid and flexible substrates. We fabricated these patterns on a wafer-sized silicon and large flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) film, suggesting the scalability. We fabricated a biomimetic pattern on both sides of a glass window, as a photovoltaic roof, for minimal optical losses to maximally present photovoltaic effects of a solar cell. The TiO 2 pattern on glass window exhibits sustainable sunlight-driven-cleaning activity for contaminants. The method could provide a platform for economical high-performance inorganic patterns for energy, environmental, electronics, and other areas. KEYWORDS: reaction-based inorganic patterning, silica and TiO 2 patterns, patterns on both sides of substrates, solar cell roof, sustainable self-cleaning window

Double‐Sided Indium Tin Oxide Photonic Crystal Glazing for All‐In‐One Multifunctional Rigid and Flexible Windows

“…First, we synthesized a non‐close‐packed silica pattern on a glass window, according to a previously described protocol. [ 12 ] A dome‐like colloidal pattern was developed on the window surface with a colloid diameter of 235 ± 9 nm, height of 161 ± 14 nm, and D of 372 ± 21 nm (Figure 1B–D). This non‐close‐packed silica pattern has several advantages for the present study.…”

“…Synthesis of ITO Photonic Crystal Windows: The materials used in this study, sample characterization, and additional experimental conditions are described in the Supporting Information. The non-close-packed silica colloidal patterns on one or both sides of the glass and polyimide windows were synthesized according to the literature [12] and are briefly described T sol,280-500 and T sol,500-1500 were calculated by using the Equation ( 1) and from the transmittance spectra recorded at a certain storage time. The error bars in the figures were standard deviations obtained from the three independent samples (n = 3).…”

“…The materials used in this study, sample characterization, and additional experimental conditions are described in the Supporting Information. The non‐close‐packed silica colloidal patterns on one or both sides of the glass and polyimide windows were synthesized according to the literature [ 12 ] and are briefly described in the Supporting Information. Next, ITO was deposited on the silica patterns using an E‐beam evaporator (DKEB‐02‐04, DAEKI HI‐TECH, Korea) (see Supporting Information).…”

“…High-performance windows have recently drawn considerable attention in the construction (building and house), [1] automobile, [2] electronics, [3,4] display, [5][6][7] energy, [8][9][10][11] and environmental. [12][13][14] They are required to have various functions for proper applications. For example, automobile and electronic fields occasionally require a window that shields ultraviolet (280-400 nm) and/or DOI: 10.1002/admt.202300737 blue visible light (400-500 nm) because these rays are reported to affect the health of human eyes and skin.…”