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.
