Issue Information

Cover Photograph: In fabricating anti-glare (AG) coatings by spraying alkoxide-derived silica sols, it was demonstrated that the water-to-alkoxide ratio is an essential factor for improving AG performance and sol stability. The figure shows the microscopic images of the obtained AG surfaces, where the sols were synthesized with water-to-alkoxide molar ratios of 3, 7, and 14 (sols R3, R7, and R14, respectively), and sprayed on glass sheets after being stored for 0, 2, and 5 days. Sol R7 provided the shortest pitches (b1, b2, and b3), leading to the best optical properties such as the lowest sparkle levels. Sol R14 showed the most significant change in the resultant surface morphology over the sol storage time (c1, c2, and c3), indicating that a high amount of water caused low temporal sol stability.