A facile method for producing superhydrophilic glasses via charge injection

Abstract

Superhydrophilic glass has aroused significant interest and attention among researchers because of their excellent performance. A variety of methods by modifying features of the glass such as surface roughness, surface energy, surface chemistry, or charge distribution. Unlike the electro-wetting phenomenon via electric-field-driven accumulation of solid-liquid interfacial charges, we report charge injection-induced accumulation phenomena on the solid surface. The wettability of a glass slide changed from hydrophilic to superhydrophilic by charge injection and heating, and the hydrophilic was restored by heating, which yields a reversible hydrophilic-superhydrophilic conversion. The influences of voltage, temperature, and charging time on the coating wettability, and its durability under reversible conversion have been determined.