Fabrication of antireflective coatings with self-cleaning and antistatic functions via Ti-Zn modified silica mixed sol

Antireflective coatings (ARCs) with self-cleaning and antistatic functionalities were fabricated using the sol-gel method with a Ti-Zn modified SiO 2 sol. Chain-like Ti-Zn composites were incorporated into SiO 2 nanoparticles exhibiting a dual-size distribution, forming a cross-linked composite structure that enhanced coating hardness while maintaining high transmittance and imparting multifunctional properties. The effects of Ti-Zn sol content on the surface morphology, microstructure, optical performance, mechanical strength, and wettability of the coatings were systematically investigated. The resulting coatings exhibited a hardness of 3H, an adhesion rating of 5B, and a solar-weighted transmittance (T sw ) of 95.31% across the wavelength range of 380–1100 nm, significantly higher than that of bare K9 glass (91.38%). Moreover, the introduction of the Ti-Zn composite sol imparted superhydrophilic properties to the coating (water contact angle, WCA = 1.8°) and facilitated the formation of continuous conductive pathways, reducing the surface resistivity to 3.61 × 10 8  Ω/□. This effectively suppressed electrostatic charge accumulation, thereby mitigating dust deposition. Furthermore, the coating demonstrated excellent multifunctional performance. A self-cleaning efficiency of 97.10% was achieved with a negligible loss in T sw (0.03%), while the haze value remained below 2% during antifogging tests. Additionally, the dust deposition density was reduced to 40.48% of that of bare glass, confirming the enhanced anti-dust performance.