Characterization of chitosan/polyethylenimine film layer as a novel anti-fog coating surface

Abstract

Anti-fog surfaces have an important place in many areas of daily life. In this study, hybrid coatings of anti-fog chitosan (CHI) and polyethyleneimine (PI) were realized as an innovative film layer. CHI/PI hybrid coatings, produced by the drop-casting method, which is a practical and one-stage deposition process, were coated on the glass and safety glasses substrates. It has been analyzed that the optimum CHI/PI coating is 2:3 (v/v) mixing ratio, which has a contact angle of 4.9 degrees, a hydrodynamic radius of 5.67 nm, and zeta potential of 38.8 mV. It was analyzed that the coating was successfully performed on the surface by FTIR analysis. It was observed that the coating surfaces were obtained as homogeneous and smooth with FESEM and surface profilometer analyzes. Both steam and cold fog tests were carried out to determine the anti-fogging properties of different surfaces after coating. After the anti-fog tests, the CHI/PI coating had high-transmittance values in the range of 85.9% and 84.6%. After the coatings were exposed to hot-cold environment cycles and subjected to long-term stability testing, the coatings retained their anti-fog properties.