Characterization of Multilayer Anti-Fog Coatings.pdfVIP

RESEARCH ARTICLE Characterization of Multilayer Anti-Fog Coatings Pascale Chevallier,?,? Stephane Turgeon,? Christian Sarra-Bournet,?,? Raphael€ Turcotte,?,? and Gaetan Laroche*,?,? ?Centre de Recherche du C.H.U.Q., 10 rue de l’Espinay, Quebec, Quebec G1L 3L5, Canada ?Laboratoire d’Ingenierie de Surface LIS , Centre de Recherche sur les Materiaux Avances CERMA , Departement de Genie des Mines, de la Metallurgie et des Materiaux, UniversiteLaval, Quebec, Quebec G1K 7P4, Canada S Supporting Information b ABSTRACT: Fog formation on transparent substrates constitutes a major challenge in several optical applications requiring excellent light transmission characteristics. Anti-fog coatings are hydrophilic, enabling water to spread uniformly on the surface rather than form dispersed droplets. Despite the development of several anti-fog coating strategies, the long-term stability, adherence to the underlying substrate, and resistance to cleaning procedures are not yet optimal. We report on a polymer-based anti-fog coating covalently grafted onto glass surfaces by means of a multistep process. Glass substrates were ?rst activated by plasma functionalization to provide amino groups on the surface, resulting in the subsequent covalent bonding of the polymeric layers. The anti-fog coating was then created by the successive spin coating of poly ethylene-maleic anhydride PEMA and poly vinyl alcohol PVA layers. PEMA acted as an interface by covalently reacting with both the glass surface amino functionalities and the PVA hydroxyl groups, while PVA added the necessary surface hydrophilicity to provide anti-fog properties. Each step of the procedure was monitored by XPS, which con?rmed the successful grafting of the coating. Coating thickness was evaluated by pro?lometry, nanoindentation, and UV visible light transmission. The hydrophilic nature of the anti-fog coating was assessed by water contact angle CA , and its anti-fog e?ciency was