Effect of boron in a hierarchical nanoporous layer formation on silicate glass

Abstract

A hierarchical nanoporous layer (HNL) can be formed on the silicate glass surface by simple alkali etching. Though it reportedly exhibits various useful functions, such as superhydrophilicity, optical anti-reflection, and material impregnation, the principle of its formation still remains unclear. In this study, HNL formation behavior was experimentally investigated while using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to clarify the role of boron contained in glass. As a result, it was found that HNL formation was significantly promoted by boron, which was rapidly eluted prior to alkali and alkaline earth metals. This suggests that boron, which forms the skeleton structure of glass together with Si and O, elutes to partially decompose the skeleton, and extends the elution route for HNL formation.