Nano-Coatings Improve Glass Performance

The 10- to 1,000-nm thick coatings improve light transmission to reduce energy costs and increase solar cell efficiency; and they protect glass from pollution, corrosion, and mechanical scratching. Applications include spectrally selective low-emissivity solar control, anti-reflection stacks, easy-clean glass, and transparent conductive oxides for smart windows and displays.
 
Nano-coatings provide a wide range of benefits for automotive glass, ophthalmic lenses, dinnerware and other applications. For example, coatings for automotive windshields and side windows repel rain to improve visibility. They make snow and ice easier to remove and provide an easy-to-clean barrier to bugs and bird droppings.
 
Treated and untreated automotive glass in a rainstorm.
 
Top coats for ophthalmic lenses, lab ware, architectural glass, and glass for outdoor displays significantly reduce static and dynamic coefficients of friction and are stain and graffiti resistant.
 
Nano-coatings can be made superhydrophobic to provide easy cleaning. They can be used on all-weather camera housings and cover glass, touch-screens, and self-cleaning solar-cover glasses.
 
LustReflex coating on
spandrel glass. Ferro’s LustReflex nano-coatings add a silver or gold film to produce a semitransparent, semimirror effect for use on refrigerator, oven, shower, furniture, and architectural glasses. Surface structures range from nano-smooth (low friction) to nano-rough.
 
Finally, antireflection nano-coatings reduce reflectivity to enhance the performance and quality of glass used in photovoltaic cells while reducing costs compared to other antireflective coatings. These screen-printable coatings increase light transmission by up to 4%, providing comparable improvements in net solar gain and cell efficiency.