A novel strategy for durable superhydrophobic coating on glass substrate via using silica chains to fix silica particles

Highlights: • Silica aggregates of chain and particle shapes were prepared by sol-gel method. • Silica particles were fixed by silica chains to glass by their mutual hydroxyl condensation. • The superhydrophobic coating has good wear resistance, thermal stability, and UV resistance. The practical application of superhydrophobic coatings on glass is usually restricted by their poor wear resistance due to the insufficient adhesion. A double-silica-layered structure was proposed to reinforce the coating adhesion on glass substrate. The wettability, surface morphologies, and chemical composition were investigated by water contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The prepared superhydrophobic coating displays a good wear-resistance by emery paper and sand abrasion, which also has excellent thermal stability and UV resistance. This strategy shows a bright future for durable superhydrophobic coating on glass.