4.1.5 HYDROPHILIC COATING MATERIALS - uni （4.1.5亲水涂层材料大学）.pdf

4.1.5 HYDROPHILIC COATING MATERIALS H. Schneider, N. Niegisch, M. Mennig, H. Schmidt 1. INTRODUCTION Hydrophilic as well as hydrophobic surfaces offer advantages for cleaning of technical surfaces. The following properties of hydrophilic coatings are interest- ing: less dirt, easy to clean, antifogging and inhibition of growth for vegetation and bacteria. Particularly the soiling of a transparent surface causes light scatter- ing and lots of brilliancy. The good wettability by water (very thin water film, no formation of water drops) of hydrophilic coatings inhibits the scattering of light and prevents fogging on the surface. The resulting very glossy and clean surface reduces also the growth of microorganisms. Freshly manufactured glass surfaces possess high hydrophilic properties, i.e. contact angles against water of 20°. Due to contaminations by the ambient air (adsorption of oils, fats, proteins, dirt particles), the surface turns to a hydropho- bic character, which leads to contact angles against water between 60 to 70°. This leads to an increased fogging of a transparent material (glass or plastics) and the incident light is strongly scattered (e.g. raindrops on an automotive wind- screen). The hydrophilic surface initiates also a good water run-off. So the grow- ing of bacteria is strongly restricted. This property is not only important for glass applications, but is more and more demanded by air conditioning manufacturers (e.g. for evaporators of automotive systems). Under static conditions, the contact angle Φ (figure 1) is used to determine the wettability of a solid material by a liquid. The smaller its value, the more a given volume of liquid spreads on a solid surface. G γ LG