Scientists have created a coating with which glasses do not fog up

Scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a gold nano-coating for eyeglasses that prevents fogging. The ultra-thin layer heats the lenses up to 7.8ºC, absorbing a large amount of infrared radiation. And unlike other coatings that simply distribute water with hydrophilic molecules, gold prevents condensation from forming at all.

A layer of gold 10 nm thick (about 10,000 times thinner than a human hair) is placed between the layers titanium oxide, which not only enhances the heating effect due to reflection, but also protects gold from wear. This design also prevents overheating in warm weather.

In the article published in Nature Nanotechnology, the authors note that they developed this coating using conventional manufacturing techniques. In other words, companies won't have to upgrade their hardware to get their development into mass production.

The researchers did not calculate the cost of such coverage, but it may not be as expensive as you think. A pair of lenses does not require a lot of gold: the required layer is about 12 times thinner than a sheet of gold leaf, so the consumption will be small. However, scientists are going to continue research with other metals: perhaps there is an option even cheaper.

The authors have already applied for a patent, but there is no talk of commercial application yet. If the technology reaches real products, it will not be limited to glasses: in this way it will also be possible to protect car windshields, mirrors, windows and other surfaces from fogging.