Improvement of the dust removal performance of a high-transmittance SnO2–SiO2 film by Sb doping

Abstract Dust on outdoor glass will significantly reduce glass transmittance in various applications and even damage solar cell panels. Here, the effects of Sb doping on the structure and photoelectric properties of a Sb-doped SnO2–SiO2 (ATO-SiO2) film prepared on a glass substrate with a sol-gel method and the dust removal performance of the resulting film were studied. The results show that the Sb-doped SnO2–SiO2 film consists of a SnO2 tetragonal rutile phase, but the doped Sb decreases the sample crystallinity. With an increase in the Sb doping concentration, two lattice parameters of the ATO-SiO2 film, a and c, show “M"-shaped changes. The nanoparticle size first decreases and subsequently increases when the Sb doping concentration is over 6 mol%. The transmittance of the substrate glass coated with this film in the visible wavelength range (380–780 nm) decreases from 86.3% to 82.7%. The square resistance first decreases and subsequently increases, while the dust removal performance first increases and subsequently decreases. At a 12 mol% Sb doping concentration, the square resistance is minimal (4.64 × 106 Ω/□). The maximal dust removal performance is 64%.