title: Robust antifogging antireflective coatings on polymer substrates by hydrochloric acid vapor treatment.
abstract: Antireflective coatings on polymer substrates have received significant attention for their potential applications. In this paper, robust microporous antifogging antireflective coatings on polymer substrates were prepared from acid-catalyzed silica sol followed by hydrochloric acid vapor solidification at mild temperature below glass transition temperatures of common polymers. The coatings passed 3H pencil hardness test, sand flow test and water-drop test. They had excellent antireflective and antifogging properties. The maximum transmittance of coatings on PMMA substrates reached 100.0% (the maximum transmittance wavelength could be regulated) and average transmittance reached 99.0% in 400-800 nm. The advantage and mechanism of hydrochloric acid vapor solidification and mechanical strength enhancement of coatings are discussed in contrast to ammonia vapor treatment and air vapor treatment. The hydrochloric acid vapor treatment results in a dense integrated microporous film structure. Optical properties were characterized by a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Surface wettability was studied by a contact angle/interface system. Surface morphologies and structures of coatings were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom force microscopy (AFM).
authors.affiliation: Functional Nanomaterials Laboratory, Center for Micro/Nanomaterials and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongguancundonglu 29, Haidianqu, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Functional Nanomaterials Laboratory, Center for Micro/Nanomaterials and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongguancundonglu 29, Haidianqu, Beijing 100190, China. Electronic address: jhhe@mail.ipc.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Junhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Functional Nanomaterials Laboratory, Center for Micro/Nanomaterials and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongguancundonglu 29, Haidianqu, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Functional Nanomaterials Laboratory, Center for Micro/Nanomaterials and Technology, and Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongguancundonglu 29, Haidianqu, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Geng
keywords: Antireflective; Hydrochloric acid vapor treatment; Microporous coatings; Polymer substrates; Silica sol