Hydrophilic/hydrophobic poly (AA-co-BA-co-BPA) anti-fog coating with excellent water resistance and self-healing properties

Glasses such as automobile windshields, mirrors, and lampshades are prone to fogging due to temperature changes, which affects the process of use and even jeopardizes safety. Hydrophilic films can prevent the glass surface from fogging by absorbing condensation droplets. However, the anti-fog film only lasts for a short period because it will gradually dissolve with the moisture increasing, which leads to image distortion. Herein, we propose a hydrophilic/hydrophobic coating to achieve longer anti-fog persistence. The strong interface bonding of the polymer is the key to improving the durability performance of the coating. It prevents interfacial failure and folding caused by fogging conditions. In this paper, a multifunctional coating with good anti-fog and anti-frost properties was prepared using butyl acrylate (BA), acrylic acid (AA) and 4-benzoylphenyl acrylate (BPA) as the polymer monomers. The light transmission of coated glass is up to 90 % even under harsh fogging conditions. The poly(AA-co-BA-co-BPA) can be firmly bonded with the plasma-treated glass plate, which greatly enhances the durability and water resistance of the coating. After being immersed in deionized water for 60 h at room temperature, the coated glass still has a certain anti-fog effect and the light transmittance is maintained at about 85 %. In addition, the anti-fog coating has excellent self-healing properties due to the fact that the carboxyl group in AA can generate hydrogen bonding, so that it can be healed within 15 s with the help of hot water after physical damage. This anti-fog coating has great potential for application in construction, shipbuilding and other industries.