LAUSR

Epoxy-siloxane hybrid hard coating (HC) has been reported to be applicable to foldable display cover window film due to its glass-like hardness and plastic-like flexibility, which are trade-off characteristics. In addition, to provide an anti-fingerprint (AF) function with abrasion resistance to HC, the addition of a durable hydrophobic function on the HC surface is essential. Herein, durable hydrophobic and abrasion resistant F-HC was reported by chemical adsorption of fluorosilane on HC with simple wet coating. TEOS-derived silica primer increased the hydroxyl groups (–OH) on surface of HC, then it improved the sol-gel condensation with fluorosilane. The fluoro-treatment reduced the coefficient of friction to maintain hydrophobicity (<10% of the initial water contact angle) and optical transparency (~90%) after 5000 cycles of a steel-wool test and 2000 cycles of an eraser abrasion test. Performance was dependent on plasma treatment, annealing condition, and pretreatment on the HC surface for the stronger chemisorption of fluorosilane. Fluorosilane can be chemically bonded on epoxy-siloxane hybrid hard coating (HC) coating via simple solution treatment without vacuum-based methods. Oxygen plasma, tetraorthosilicate (TEOS)-derived silica primer, and thermal treatments increased the hydroxyl groups on surface of the coating, and alkoxy groups in fluorosilane react with hydroxyl groups by sol-gel condensation. Fluoro-treated hard coating (F-HC) coating maintained excellent optical transparency and hydrophobic surface after steel-wool (5000 cycles) and eraser (2000 cycles) abrasion tests.