Rapid and substrate-independent layer-by-layer fabrication of antireflection- and antifogging-integrated coatings

The antireflection- and antifogging-integrated coatings are widely useful in daily life because they can effectively enhance the transmission of light and meanwhile considerably prevent water condensation. Herein, we present a rapid, straightforward and substrate-independent method for the fabrication of antireflection-and antifogging-integrated coatings by layer-by-layer deposition of mesoporous silica (MSiO2) nanoparticles and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). Quartz substrates covered with (MSiO2/PDDA)*3 coatings exhibit both antireflection and antifogging properties because the highly porous MSiO2 nanoparticles and their loose stacking in MSiO2/PDDA coatings enable the fabrication of superhydrophilic porous coatings with a low refractive index. A maximum transmittance of 99.9% in the visible spectral range is achieved for the (MSiO2/PDDA)*3 coatings deposited on quartz substrates. The antireflection and antifogging coatings can be conveniently deposited on daily used plastic substrates such as polycarbonate and Columbia resin CR-39. The rapid fabrication of the antireflection and antifogging (MSiO2/PDDA)*3 coatings is benefited from the large dimension and the fast adsorption kinetics of MSiO2 nanoparticles.