ATRP-tethering Anti-fouling/Anti-fogging Hydrophilic thin Hydrogel Layers on the Surface of Glass Slides

Abstract

Surface design and engineering is a critical tool to improve the interaction of solid materials with their surroundings. Immobilization of polymeric hydrogels is one of the major strategies to achieve surface modification of solid substrates. Here, we report a simple strategy for tethering hydrophilic layers with anti-fogging and anti-fouling traits on the glass surface by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The mixtures of N-acrylamide glycine and N-acrylamide glycinamide with different ratios are utilized for the generation of the hydrogel layer in the absence of any external crosslinking agent. The tethered layers are characterized by XPS, ATR-FTIR, and SEM. By adjusting the acrylamides ratio, layers with high hydrophilicity (contact angle 8°) are achieved. Notably, the modified glasses showed strong anti-fogging and anti-fouling performances. Additionally, the performance of the modified glasses remained almost unchanged after 2 months indicating high stability of the immobilized thin hydrogel layers.