Spin-LbL Assembled Coatings of SiO2 and TiO2 oppositely Charged Nanoparticles for Superhydrophilicity, Antifogging and Antireflection

Superhydrophilic, Antifogging (AF) and Anti-Reflective (AR) coatings were fabricated via layer-by-layer spin coating assembly of oppositely charged Nanoparticles (NPs) followed by calcination. The positively charged TiO2 NPs ( 40.8 mV) and negatively charged SiO2 NPs (-41.5 mV) were bound firmly together via electrostatic interaction. The resultant coatings can obtain excellent properties using only three bi layers of alternating the TiO2 NPs and SiO2 NPs. The coatings exhibited excellent AF properties due to the super hydrophilicity of the coating, revealed excellent AR properties (> 95.2%) due to the low refractive index coating and an appropriate coating thickness, and showed excellent super hydrophilic properties (~ 0°, < 0.2 s) due to a nano-roughness structure. The calcination temperature between 400 and 550 °C has little effect on the transmittance of the coatings. In addition to being environmentally friendly, the simple, cost-efficient and green fabrication process made the superhydrophilic, AF and AR coatings have various applications in optical instruments and display devices.