Plasma codeposition of transparent thin films : relationship between the surface chemistry and the anti-fogging property

Thanh Hien Tran (1) , Dominique Debarnot (1) , Jose Ortiz (2) , Fabienne Poncin-Epaillard (1)

1 IMMM - Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans
2 VIS - Valeo Vision [Bobigny]

Anti-fogging coatings are deposited on the polycarbonate thanks to the low pressure pulsed plasma. Two precursors are simultaneously polymerized: One contains hydrophilic groups (2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate or acrylic acid [AA]) whereas the other one (1 H,1 H,2H-perfluoro-1-decene [HDFD]) is hydrophobic. Several proportions of (HDFD) are applied to prepare films with high hexadecane (≈70°) and low water (≤20°) contact angles. Evidence of their hydrophilic, oleophobic properties is given by the wettabillity and the anti-fogging measurements. It appears that all plasma-codeposits issued from AA and HDFD with high hexadecane contact angle are more oleophobic than the plasma-copolymers 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate and HDFD, irrespective of the proportion of the fluorinated precursor. Such a behavior is explained by the grafting of longer perfluorinated chains. The anti-fogging properties are not directly correlated to the wettability. Moreover, the films act as predicted by the flip flop mechanism.

Mots clés: plasma deposition; hydrophilic / oleophobic coating; anti-fogging; wetting

Domaines: Polymères

Thanh Hien Tran, Dominique Debarnot, Jose Ortiz, Fabienne Poncin-Epaillard. Plasma codeposition of transparent thin films : relationship between the surface chemistry and the anti-fogging property. Plasma Processes and Polymers, 2019, 16 (10), pp.1900070. ⟨10.1002/ppap.201900070⟩. ⟨hal-03367767⟩