Broad band antireflective coatings using novel in-situ synthesis of hollow MgF^sub 2^ nanoparticles

A high performance antireflective (AR) should be a thin film with low refractive index, highly transparent, economical, and highly durable. In this paper, we present a novel synthesis of hollow Magnesium Fluoride (MgF2) nanoparticles, which is used to produce a high performance broadband antireflective coating. A formation-deformation-reformation route has been adopted to synthesize nanoparticles with hexagonal structure and cavities, which are crystalline and dispersible in any polar solvent. This facile synthesis route is a major breakthrough to achieve high performance broadband antireflective coating with an average transmittance of 98.3% in the visible range (400-800 nm) and 96.2% in active solar range (300-1500 nm). No significant drop in the efficiency was observed with antireflective-coated cover glass on the c-Si solar cell, whereas 6-7% efficiency loss was observed with uncoated glass. This can be a promising approach to develop high performance anti-reflective dielectric layer, which will enhance the overall performance of photovoltaic and solar thermal systems.