Scratch and Impact Resistant Coating for Safety Eyewear

描述（由申请人提供）：据估计，如果使用适当的安全眼镜，90%的眼部损伤是可以避免的。尽管在工作场所广泛要求使用安全眼镜，但由于不舒适和由于划痕而无法清楚地看到，工人中仍然存在明显的不情愿遵守。市售的耐刮擦涂层（Hardcoats）在一定程度上确实有帮助，但它们也显著降低了聚碳酸酯基材的耐冲击性。与市售的硬涂层相比，TriboFilm的第一阶段可行性研究已清楚地证明，精心设计的多层耐刮擦涂层（由更坚韧、更不脆的底涂层和固定的润滑顶涂层组成）可使耐刮擦性提高10倍，而不会影响聚碳酸酯的耐冲击性。根据第一阶段可行性研究的进展，第二阶段的提案旨在优化工艺和扩大规模沿着进行一系列密集测试，以评估多层SR涂层的性能和耐久性。 所提出的涂层将允许生产安全眼镜和眼科镜片，其抗刮擦和抗冲击性远远优于目前市场上的任何产品。这种涂层技术将在3.3亿美元的护眼市场和158亿美元的眼镜市场中为眼镜用户带来巨大的好处。如果成功，这项工作将在其他塑料应用中具有广泛的适用性，其中光学透明度，耐刮擦性和耐冲击性是关键要求。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It has been estimated that 90% of all eye injuries could have been avoided if proper safety eyewear had been used. Despite widespread required use of safety eyewear in the work place, there continues to be a significant reluctance among workers to comply because of discomfort and the inability to see clearly due to scratches. Commercially available scratch resistant coatings (Hardcoats') do help to a degree but they also significantly decrease the impact resistance of the polycarbonate substrate. Compared to commercially available Hardcoats, TriboFilm's Phase I feasibility study has demonstrated clearly that a well designed multilayered scratch resistant coating comprised of a tougher and less brittle Base Coat and an anchored lubricious TopCoat produces a 10-fold increase in scratch resistance without affecting the impact resistance of polycarbonate. Based on the developments in the Phase I feasibility study, this Phase II proposal is aimed at process optimization and scale-up along with a series of intensive testing to evaluate the performance and durability of the Multilayered SR coating. The proposed coating will allow the production of safety glasses and ophthalmic lenses with a combination of scratch and impact resistance far better than any currently on the market. This coating technology will be of great benefit to eyewear users in the $330 million eye protection market and the $15.8 billion eyewear market. If successful, this work would have widespread applicability in additional plastic applications where optical clarity, scratch resistance, and impact resistance are key requirements.