Chemically Robust Antifog Nanocoating through Multilayer Deposition of Silica Composite Nanofilms

Abstract

A coating must remain intact to perform its inherent functions on a surface, and often functional organic coatings fail due to deterioration because of their intrinsic vulnerabilities. In this work, we present a biomimetic material based on a glass sponge to provide a robust silica composite nanocoating with an antifog effect. The silica composite nanocoating was constructed with a binary film structure consisting of (1) a Fe(III)−tannic acid (TA) nanofilm for adhesion to coat the substrates and (2) a SiO 2 layer to enhance the durability of the coating. Due to the universal coating property of Fe(III)−TA nanofilms, we demonstrated that the silica composite nanocoating was effective regardless of the substrate. By layer-by-layer assembly of the silica composite, it is possible to precisely control the nanocoating thickness. The superhydrophilic nature of the SiO 2 layer showed an exceptional antifog effect that remained intact against multiple deteriorative conditions, including acid treatment, peroxide degradation, sudden temperature change, severe heat conduction, and oil contamination. In addition, the silica composite nanocoating is scalable for surfaces of different shapes and sizes with the aid of a spray-assisted deposition technique. The bioinspired, multicomposite nanocoating strategy herein contributes to the improvement of organic coatings for uses in applications to tackle current technological problems.

Highly Transparent, Robust Hydrophobic, and Amphiphilic Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Coatings for Antifogging and Antibacterial Applications

“…The coated substrate withholds the transparency within a short time after fog deposition but soon maintains the surface property. More recently, Kim and Park fabricated a robust antifogging nanocoating by first preparing a precoating using an Fe­(III)–tannic acid (TA)/cysteamine nanofilm, followed by the deposition of SiO 2 layer on the glass surface . They also repeated the experiment by increasing the number of Fe­(III)–tannic acid (TA)/cysteamine layers on the glass substrate and studied the antifogging effect on the surface.…”

“…More recently, Kim and Park fabricated a robust antifogging nanocoating by first preparing a precoating using an Fe(III)−tannic acid (TA)/ cysteamine nanofilm, followed by the deposition of SiO 2 layer on the glass surface. 60 They also repeated the experiment by increasing the number of Fe(III)−tannic acid (TA)/cysteamine layers on the glass substrate and studied the antifogging effect on the surface. The fabricated substrates showed superhydrophilic, excellent transparency, and antifogging properties.…”

Application of Composite Nanomaterials in the Teaching of Piano Touch Technology and Timbre Expressiveness

“…ere are three main approaches to this research: theoretical mathematics, scientific experiments, and computer simulations [21].…”

Transparent Composite Films Showing Durable Antifogging and Repeatable Self-Healing Properties Based on an Integral Blend Method

“…On the other hand, for superhydrophobic surfaces, droplets nucleate within the surface micro/nanostructures under high-humidity conditions (>60% relative humidity (RH)), leading to a great reduction in the water droplet mobility, and hence, these droplets do not connect into a thin film of water and scatter light . Thus, there have been only a limited number of approaches for the preparation of superhydrophobic-type antifogging films/coatings. − Besides the superhydrophilic nature, water-absorbing/hygroscopic properties of materials also play a key role to realize long-lasting antifogging properties, preventing excess and inhomogeneous water condensation under harsh fogging conditions. − …”