Transparent and anti-fingerprint coating prepared with chitin nanofibers and surface modification via vapor deposition

A facile construction of transparent and amphiphobic coatings has been established by simply casting aqueous suspension of chitin nanofibers (ChNFs) on glass substrate and then modified using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (PFDTS) through vapor deposition. It was confirmed that the fluoroalkylsilane groups were grafted onto the ChNFs coating surface after the PFDTS deposition. An amphiphobic coating was achieved with static contact angles of 156° and 97° for water and oleic acid, and the coating possessed anti-fingerprint property. Moreover, after 5 rubbings with an ethanol-socked cotton ball or 100 wipes with a lens cloth under a load of 200 g, the water contact angle and oleic acid contact angle of the ChNFs coatings remained larger than 120° and around 80°, respectively, and the change in transmittance was <1.7 %. Such properties suggested that the prepared transparent and amphiphobic ChNFs coatings are promising in anti-fingerprint protection for optical lenses/sensors and display screens.