ABSTRACT
Abstract Transparent inorganic-organic coatings with embedded silica nanospheres followed by dip coating from silane based hydrophobic solution have been deposited onto Al alloy surfaces as well as on sodalime glass surfaces. Silica nanospheres embedded in the inorganic-organic (TEOS-GPTMS) solution were synthesized by the Stöber process. The deposited coatings were annealed at 150◦C for 3 h in air ambient for Al alloys and 100◦C to 300◦C for 3 h in air ambient in case of sodalime glass. The coated substrates were tested for their scratch and hydrophobicity properties by employing linear scratch tester and contact angle measurements, respectively. The coatings withstood a load up to 4 N indicating good scratch resistance property and showed a water contact angle of 120◦ indicating hydrophobic nature of the top coated surface.
