Process for producing photochromic optical articles

Abstract

Provided is a method for producing a photochromic optical article having a photochromic coating layer exhibiting photochromism formed on an optical base such as a plastic lens which has good optical characteristics and photochromic characteristics, and also has good adhesion between the base and the photochromic layer. The method enables to easily produce such a photochromic optical article by improving wettability of a photochromic coating agent for a primer. In this method, the photochromic optical article is produced by forming a primer layer on the optical base surface by coating a primer comprising an emulsion which has a colloidally dispersed urethane resin in a dispersion medium, and then forming on the primer layer.

1 . An optical article comprising a laminate structure consisting of an optical substrate, a photochromic layer formed from a coating solution containing a radical polymerizing monomer, a compound having a silanol group or a group capable of preparing a silanol group by hydrolysis and a photochromic compound and a primer layer therebetween, wherein a surface of the optical substrate and the photochromic layer are bonding through the primer layer, and wherein said radical polymerizing monomer excludes (i) monomers having a silanol group or monomers having a group capable of preparing a silanol group by hydrolysis and (ii) monomers having a maleimide group, said optical article obtained by a process comprising the steps of:
 (A) forming the primer layer on the surface of the optical substrate by applying a primer comprising an emulsion containing a dispersed urethane resin in a colloidal particle state or a more bulky particle state in water or a dispersing medium which comprises a mixture of an organic solvent having high affinity with water and water; and   (B) forming the photochromic layer on the primer layer formed in step (A);   wherein the primer is an emulsion comprising a urethane resin having a silanol group and at least one group selected from the group consisting of an acryloyloxy group and a methacryloyloxy group.   
     
     
         2 . The optical article according to  claim 1 , wherein the optical substrate comprises polycarbonate.