– Development of transparent films that self-heal physical damages in a short period and prevent fogging for a long period –
Researchers) SATO Tomoya, Senior Researcher, HOZUMI Atsushi, Group Leader, Advanced Surface and Interface Chemistry Group, Innovative Functional Materials Research Institute
- Functional films can be prepared by simply mixing and heating commercially available materials.
- Anti-fogging property can improve visibility for lens and glass even under high-humidity conditions.
- Such effect will contribute to the reduction of efficiency loss of solar panels, etc.
Overview of newly developed technology and properties of the nanocomposite film
*Revised figure from A. Hozumi et al. Langmuir 2022 (Reference 1).
Copyright 2022 American Chemical Society
When transparent substrates such as glass or plastic are exposed to rapid temperature changes under high-humidity conditions, small water droplets form on their surfaces and the substrates become cloudy due to light scattering (hereafter, we refer to this phenomenon as “fogging”). Fogging can lead to poor visibility of automobile and building window glasses and transparent refrigerators, or the efficiency loss of equipment such as medical and analytical devices, sensors, and solar panels. In addition, fogging of spectacle lenses due to the wearing of masks has recently become a familiar problem. Therefore, the development of a new technology to suppress such fogging (anti-fog treatment) is strongly demanded.
Among the anti-fogging treatments reported so far, the use of hydrophilic materials such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), which produces a superhydrophilic surface when it is subjected to ultraviolet irradiation, as well as inorganic materials (SiO2, ZnO) and organics (surfactants and water-soluble polymers, etc.) are effective. However, most of these surfaces are well known to quickly lose their functionalities due to cracking, abrasion, or other physical damages.
Researchers in AIST developed a facile fabrication method for transparent nanocomposite films with long-lasting anti-fogging and excellent self-healing properties. This method is based on significant improvements in both the composition and fabrication process of nanocomposite materials originally developed by AIST. Thanks to the development of this method, the self-healing time for severe physical damages can be reduced from 24-48 hours to 3 hours.
The nanocomposite films can suppress fogging on transparent substrates such as lenses and glass for a long period. They are also expected to be effective in improving user visibility and safety and prevent efficiency loss in medical and analytical devices, sensors, and solar panels, etc.
Reference 1: Langmuir
Transparent Composite Films Showing Durable Antifogging and Repeatable Self-Healing Properties Based on Integral Blend Method
Tomoya Sato, Asei Amano, Gary J. Dunderdale, Atsushi Hozumi
DOI：10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c01085