Alfa Chemistry has a variety of surface coating technologies that can functionalize a variety of substrate types to be hydrophilic. Our hydrophilic coating has strong water absorption and can provide a variety of performance advantages. In addition, these nanoscale hydrophilic coatings are ultra-thin, optically transparent, and very durable. Having a hydrophilic surface has many performance advantages in countless applications. Our hydrophilic nano-coating treatment technology improves the performance of almost any product through easy-to-apply hydrophilic nano-coatings that can be combined with a variety of surfaces. Together we create winning hydrophilic products!
Does Your Product Need Hydrophilic Nanocoating?
Hydrophilic surface coating technology can be used to solve various problems. The following examples show that hydrophilic nanocoatings will help improve the quality of your products.
- The surface is not lubricated enough
- The wettability of the surface or powder is not ideal
- Hope to prevent the formation of underwater bubbles
- Functional problems due to surface liquid behavior
- Water droplets/contamination affect optical performance
- Water droplets can cause optical problems with the lens and camera dome
- Surface contamination (fingerprints) will reduce the aesthetic behavior of the product
Choose Surface Substrates
Alfa Chemistry has a variety of technologies available to us, which means that we can treat almost any surface or substrate including but not limited to metals, polymers, semiconductors, ceramics, and glass. In addition to the cleaning or other processing steps that may be required, the type of substrate will affect the technical options that can be used. Generally speaking, due to the presence of surface oxide layers, we find that metals, ceramics, glass, and semiconductors have the highest probability of success.
Learn About Hydrophilic Properties
Our hydrophilic nano-coating technology will produce a durable hydrophilic surface. The typical water contact angle (measured by surface energy) is in the range of<10°. These coatings are mainly nano-scale, as thin as 2-4 nanometers, allowing your parts to remain visually unchanged and optically transparent. The self-assembly process ensures a uniform and uniform surface coating every time!
Hydrophilic Coating Platform
Our core coating technology is based on SAMP or "self-assembled phosphonate monolayer", which is composed of phosphonic acid and functional tail molecules that can impart various surface behaviors on oxide-containing substrates. Other hydrophilic coating options in our technology suite for modifying surfaces to be hydrophilic include organometallics, transition metal complexes, traditional polymer coatings, and surface growth polymer coatings.
Hydrophilic Coating Properties
Our hydrophilic surface coatings are chemically stable and can be chosen to withstand most environmental or exposure conditions. These nano-coatings are thermally stable (200°-300°C+) in ambient air.
They also have abrasion resistance due to strong covalent bonds. We have a saying that the hydrophilic treatment is "as strong as the underlying substrate." If your substrate can be intact in the environment, so will our hydrophilic nano coatings.
The combination of the thinness of our hydrophilic coating and the surface structure produces excellent optical transparency and is stable to ultraviolet radiation.
Application Process
Our hydrophilic surface nano-coatings are durable and scalable, suitable for high-volume commercial applications. These coatings and treatments are carried out through wet chemical processes, which means that no deposition equipment, chambers or batch processing are ever needed! Application options include spraying, wiping, dipping, spraying or dispensing.
Hydrophilic Coating Substrate Compatibility
Our hydrophilic Coatings can be used on a broad range of materials, including those listed below. If you do not see your particular substrate listed, it's still a good bet we can treat it. Contact us to discuss your situation.
Metals: Stainless Steel, Tin, Aluminum, Copper, Nickel, Titanium, Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Chromium, Tungsten, Silver, Zinc, Titanium, Tantalum, Indium
Polymers: Nylon, Polyimides, ABS, Kevlar, Polycarbonate, Bismaleimide Triazine, Aramid, Oxide-Reinforced Polymers, FR4, Polyamides, Polysiloxanes, SU8, Polyesters
Glass/Ceramics: Borosilicate Glass, Porcelain, Tile, Granite, Mirrors
