Anti-fogging properties of amphiphilic copolymer films deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD)

This study demonstrates the deposition of an amphiphilic copolymer as an anti-fogging coating on the glass and mirror surfaces. For this purpose, copolymer films of 2,2,2,3,4,4,4,4 hexafluorobutyl acrylate (HFBA) with 2(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) were synthesized using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). During the iCVD process by adjusting the flow rate ratio of the monomers, the amount of fluorinated moiety in the P(HFBA-DMAEMA) was systematically tuned, which was confirmed through FTIR and & Oslash;S analyses. According to the water contact angle measurements, coatings were shown to be more hydrophobic with increasing fraction of fluorine atoms in their structures. The P(HFBA-DMAEMA)-deposited surfaces showed outstanding and long-lasting anti-fogging performance while maintaining high optical transmissivity. Films were observed to be functional in terms of anti-fogging behavior even after 1-year from the initial coating process, which confirms the durability of the films.