Fabrication of new transparent and hydrophilic hybrid anti-fog coating from silane coupler modified by polyethylene glycols

A new and effective organic-inorganic hybrid hydrophilic anti-fog coating was proposed and prepared. As is well-known, the presence of an inorganic component typically decreases the hydrophilicity and transparency of the coating. To solve this problem, we used polyethylene glycol with two different molecular weights to modify the si-lane coupling agent and mixed it with hydrophilic copolymer to form coating formulas. We coated these formulas on polycarbonate(PC) substrates to measure the anti-fogging properties via contact angle and anti-fogging tests, com-pared their transparency properties using UV-Vis spectra and evaluated the hardness using a pencil hardness tester. The results demonstrate that the molecular weight of PEG has a strong influence on the properties of the anti-fog coatings. After the corresponding optimization, we manufactured an excellent anti-fog coating. In addition to good adhesion and hardness, the coating also exhibited excellent mechanical properties, optical transparency and perfect anti-fogging performance.