Microhardness and refractive index of titanium dioxide-based binary coatings

Glass composites covered by sol–gel TiO$_{2}$–$m$Me$_{x}$O$_{y}$ (Me$_{x}$O$_{y}$ = ZnO, CdO, SnO, CuO, and Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$ and $m$ = 2, or 10 wt %) binary oxide coatings have been studied. The microhardness of the composites and glass substrate has been measured, and the microhardness of the coatings has been determined from these measurements. A correlation between the microhardness of the coatings, their refractive index, and packing density of disperse sol phase particles in the coating has been established.