Herein, we have successfully developed
an integrated strategy to
develop antireflective coatings with self-cleaning capabilities based
on periodic double-sided photonic γ-AlOOH nanostructures to
transmit maximum incident light photons. Interfacial reflections are
instinctive and one of the fundamental phenomena occurring at interfaces
owing to refractive index mismatch. The eradication of such undesirable
light reflection is of significant consideration in many optical devices.
A systematic approach was carried out to eradicate surface reflection
and enhance optical transmission by tailored γ-AlOOH nanostructures.
The γ-AlOOH photonic nanostructures with subwavelength features
exhibited a gradient index, which almost eliminated the refractive
index mismatch at the interface. Optical transmittance of 97% was
achieved in the range of 350–800 nm at normal incidence compared
to uncoated glass (89%). A multilayer model approach was adopted to
extract the effective refractive index of the coating, which showed
a graded index from the top to the bottom surface. Further, to fully
comprehend the optics of these nanostructures, the omnidirectional
(20–70°) antireflective property has been explored using
variable-angle specular reflectance spectroscopy. The hierarchical
γ-AlOOH nanostructures exhibited only ∼1.3% reflectance
at the lower incident angle in the visible spectra and an average
reflectance of ∼7.6% up to an incident angle of 70°. Moreover,
the hierarchical nanostructures manifested contact angle (CA) >172°
and roll-off angle (RA) <1° with excellent self-cleaning performance.
Furthermore, the abrasion resistance of the coating is discussed in
detail, which displayed a good resistance against sand erosion. Significantly,
the photovoltaic performance of the coated modules exhibited a relative
enhancement of ∼17% in efficiency, which is attributed to the
efficient coupling of light rays. Thus, the integration of the antireflection
(AR) property with self-cleaning ability can provide a cost-effective
energy solution for optoelectronic devices, display devices, and thin-film
optics.