Long-lasting and stable anti-fog coating combined with active and passive strategy

Cijian Zhang, Beitao Liu, Shengyuan Yu, Jiahui Li, Qian Liu, Shouhai Zhang, Xigao Jian and Zhihuan Weng ()
Additional contact information
Cijian Zhang: Dalian University of Technology
Beitao Liu: Dalian University of Technology
Shengyuan Yu: Dalian University of Technology
Jiahui Li: Dalian University of Technology
Qian Liu: Dalian University of Technology
Shouhai Zhang: Dalian University of Technology
Xigao Jian: Dalian University of Technology
Zhihuan Weng: Dalian University of Technology

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract There is an urgent need to design long-term effective anti-fog coatings to ensure the stabilization of uniform water films on hydrophilic surfaces, considering the impacts of interfacial strength, cyclic drying, and contaminants. Here, we propose an anti-fog strategy that leverages manipulating free volume and hydrogen bonding of hydrophilic networks through the twisted non-coplanar structures, synergized with photothermal effects, to enhance anti-fog efficiency. The introduction twisted non-coplanar structures of 1(2H)-phthalazinone not only significantly enhances the coating’s interfacial stability but also increases the molecular free volume, thereby substantially improving its moisture absorption capacity and extending the anti-fogging duration. The developed coating simultaneously achieves high transparency and efficient solar light absorption in the UV/NIR regions, effectively enhancing photothermal fog prevention and removal. The insights into anti-fog strategy promise to translate the structural free-volume benefits measured in laboratories into real-world applications for long-lasting and stable anti-fog coatings.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64055-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64055-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64055-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().