Transparent and anti-fingerprint coating prepared with chitin nanofibers and surface modification via vapor deposition

A facile construction of transparent and amphiphobic coatings has been established by simply casting aqueous suspension of chitin nanofibers (ChNFs) on glass substrate and then modified using 1 H ,1 H ,2 H ,2 H -perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (PFDTS) through vapor deposition . It was confirmed that the fluoroalkylsilane groups were grafted onto the ChNFs coating surface after the PFDTS deposition. An amphiphobic coating was achieved with static contact angles of 156° and 97° for water and oleic acid , and the coating possessed anti-fingerprint property. Moreover, after 5 rubbings with an ethanol-socked cotton ball or 100 wipes with a lens cloth under a load of 200 g, the water contact angle and oleic acid contact angle of the ChNFs coatings remained larger than 120° and around 80°, respectively, and the change in transmittance was <1.7 %. Such properties suggested that the prepared transparent and amphiphobic ChNFs coatings are promising in anti-fingerprint protection for optical lenses/sensors and display screens.