Nanostructured coatings for anti-reflective and anti-fogging functionalities

 
With the increased integration of HMI in the automotive industry, motivated by the search for a more pleasing and efficient experience for the end-user, there has been a surge in the use of protective and functional coatings on touch display and optical transparent devices. In this work, we aim to show the advances in the development of functional surfaces in glass and polymeric substrates, through UV-curing and Reactive Pulsed Direct Current Magnetron Sputtering (DCMS) Technologies. In particular, the work shows that the combination of a nanostructured thin film with a basecoat layer has potential as anti-reflective coatings for polymeric substrates. The work also exploits the hydrophilic properties of a thin film obtained through DCMS, with potential for anti-fogging functionality. These developments intend to demonstrate the potential use of nanostructured coatings in the development of functional surfaces for automotive applications. This work was developed in the scope of the i4REV project, which was co-financed by Portugal 2020, under the Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).