Superhydrophilic and antireflective coatings were fabricated via the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly method with in situ precipitation of sodium silicate and calcium acetate on quartz or glass slide substrate. The influences of assembly conditions on the growth behavior;
surface topologies;
zeta potentials;
wettability;
antifogging behavior and transmittances of the multilayer coatings have been investigated in details. The results indicated that more than three deposition cycles with 3.27g/L calcium silicate hydrates (CSH) solution were optimal condition for the fabrication of a superhydrophilic and antireflective coating structure of poly(ethyleneimine)/poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PEI/PSS-CSH)3 with 98.0% of transmittance;
and even 99.4% of (PEI/PSS-CSH)4 multilayer film. Additionally;
the 3.0 bilayers of PEI-PSS/CSH coatings exhibited superior antifogging characteristics. This in situ formation of CSH nanoparticles in the LbL film offers a potential strategy to fabricate multifunctional films for a variety of technological applications. © 2014 Elsevier B.V;