Dense, uniform, smooth SiO 2 /TiO 2 hard coatings derived from a single precursor source of tetra- n -butyl titanate modified perhydropolysilazane.

SiO 2 /TiO 2 composite coatings are of great interest due to their optical, photocatalytic, electrical and mechanical properties. There are many methods for preparing SiO 2 /TiO 2 composite coatings. Among these, the sol-gel process is eco-friendly and easily implementable for industrial applications. However, it is still a great challenge to prepare dense, uniform and smooth SiO 2 /TiO 2 composite coatings with a sol-gel process. In this work, we show a modified sol-gel process for achieving dense, uniform and smooth SiO 2 /TiO 2 coatings with tetra- n -butyl titanate modified perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) as a single precursor source, in which PHPS acts as the source for SiO 2 instead of a traditional alkoxylsilane compound. The micro-morphology and composition evolution during the preparation process have been investigated; a smooth surface with a roughness average ( S a ) below 4.5 nm and a uniform distribution of Ti elements over the entire coating are shown. These dense, uniform SiO 2 /TiO 2 coatings exhibit excellent mechanical robustness, with hardness values as high as 9.45 GPa, excellent optical transparency and hydrophilic properties.