Mesoporous ZnO-SiO sub(2) core-shell rods for UV absorbing and non-wetting applications

A versatile wet chemical approach to synthesize mesoporous ZnO-SiO sub(2) rods in the core-shell morphology is reported in this paper. The mesoporous nature of the rods is reflected from surface area measurements. The band gap of the ZnO-SiO sub(2) rods shows a blue shift compared to the ZnO rods. The non-wetting and UV absorbing nature of the rods is investigated by dip coating them on the polyester taffeta and exposing them to a UV source. By tuning the concentration of the roughening agent, an average water contact angle of 152[degrees] with better UV absorbing characteristics is obtained.