Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 23, 2025

TiO2-coated Hollow Glass Microspheres with Superhydrophobic and High IR-reflective Properties Synthesized by a Soft-chemistry Method
Published on: April 26, 2017
Superhydrophilic Fe3+ Doped TiO2 Films with Long-Lasting Antifogging Performance
Yi Yang1,2, Tianyu Sun1,2, Fuliang Ma1
1Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Related Technologies, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Protective Technologies, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Based on the superhydrophilicity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) after ultraviolet irradiation, it has a high potential in the application of antifogging. However, a durable superhydrophilic state and a broader photoresponse range are necessary. Considering the enhancement of the photoresponse of TiO2, doping is an effective method to prolong the superhydrophilic state. In this paper, a Fe3+ doped TiO2 film with long-lasting superhydrophilicity and antifogging is prepared by sol-gel method. The experiment and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed to investigate the antifogging performance and the underlying microscopic mechanism of Fe3+ doped TiO2. Antifogging tests demonstrate that 1.0 mol % Fe3+ doping leads to durable antifogging performance which lasts 60 days. The DFT calculations reveal that the Fe3+ doping can both increase the photolysis ability of TiO2 under sunlight exposure and enhance the stability of the hydroxyl adsorbate on TiO2 surface, which are the main reasons for a long-lasting superhydrophilicity of TiO2 after sunlight exposure.

