Scientists in China have built a thin film that retains its antifogging properties even under an antireflective coating.
When water molecules in warm moist air condense on a cooler surface, tiny droplets form. On transparent surfaces – such as glasses, windows or screens – these droplets scatter light and fog the surface. Most antifogging materials are superhydrophilic compounds that spread the water molecules on the surface to stop droplets from forming and require the superhydrophilic layer to be on top. This imposes ‘significant difficulties and challenges when designing multifunctional thin films,’ explains Junhui He from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. The problem is ‘that different functions generally act on their own and do not collaborate with each other. How to harmonise these functions in a single film is a big hurdle that scientists must span.’ Read the full article in Chemistry World to find out He’s solution»
Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Antifogging antireflective thin films: does the antifogging layer have to be the outmost layer?
Xiaojie Zhang and Junhui He
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04465K, Communication
