Self-cleanable transparent conductive surface/film

Abstract

A self-cleaning transparent conductive surface includes a hydrophobic film and a metal nano-web coupled to the hydrophobic film. The metal nano-web imparts conductive properties to the surface of the film and texturing formed by either the hydrophobic film, substrate or metal nano-web create a super-hydrophobic surface. This super-hydrophobic and conductive surface may be created by etching and layering a metal nano-web over the surface of a hydrophobic film or a rigid substrate, the metal grid may the hydrophobic film or substrate may also be etched in a moth's eye pattern. Both the hydrophobic film or substrate and metal nano-web may be coated in a layer of hydrophobic material to further increase the hydrophobic effect.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A self-cleaning transparent conductive surface comprising:
 a) a transparent hydrophobic material;   b) a transparent metal pattern coupled to a surface of the transparent hydrophobic material; wherein the transparent metal pattern includes a plurality of metal features.   
     
     
         2 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 1  wherein the hydrophobic material is coupled to a substrate on a planar surface opposite the transparent metal pattern. 
     
     
         3 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 1  wherein a width of metal features of the plurality of metal features in the nano-web is greater than zero and less than or equal to about 3 micrometers in thickness. 
     
     
         4 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 3  wherein a pitch of adjacent features in the metal pattern is greater than 100 micrometers. 
     
     
         5 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 1  further comprising c) one or more structures formed in the hydrophobic material located substantially within a space between the intersecting metal lines of the metal nano-web. 
     
     
         6 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 5  wherein a pitch for adjacent structures of the one or more structures is between 0.2 micrometers and 20 micrometers. 
     
     
         7 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 6  wherein the diameter of the one or more geometric structures is 30 to 70% of the pitch. 
     
     
         8 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 6  wherein the one or more structures formed in the hydrophobic film include one or more cones. 
     
     
         9 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 8  wherein the one or more cones are oriented with a tip closer to the surface coupled to the metal grid than a wide base. 
     
     
         10 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 6  wherein the one or more structures formed in the hydrophobic film include one or more pyramids. 
     
     
         11 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 10  wherein the one or more pyramids are oriented with a tip closer to the surface coupled to the metal grid than a wide base. 
     
     
         12 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 6  wherein the one or more structures formed in the hydrophobic film include one or more cylinders. 
     
     
         13 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 1  wherein the transparent metal pattern is coated with a hydrophobic material to improve the hydrophobicity of the self-cleaning surface. 
     
     
         14 . The self-cleaning surface of  claim 13 , wherein a linewidth, height, and pitch of the plurality of metal features are configured to provide structures that impart superhydrophobicity to the self-cleaning surface. 
     
     
         15 . A method for making a self-cleaning transparent conductive surface comprising:
 a) forming a transparent metal pattern on a surface of a transparent hydrophobic material, wherein the transparent metal pattern includes a plurality of connected metal features; and   b) configuring the surface of the transparent hydrophobic material and/or the plurality of metal features to be superhydrophobic.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein forming the transparent metal pattern includes:
 a) applying a mask to a hydrophobic film, the mask having a pattern of openings;   b) etching the hydrophobic film through the openings in the mask to etch a pattern corresponding to the pattern of openings on the surface of the hydrophobic film;   c) applying a metal coating to the hydrophobic film, wherein the metal coating preferentially adheres to portions of the surface of the hydrophobic film etched in step b) thereby creating a pattern of metal features on the hydrophobic film corresponding to the pattern of openings in the mask.   
     
     
         17 . The method from step  16  further comprising d) etching the hydrophobic film to form geometric structures in the gaps of the metal pattern formed in step c). 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein etching includes masking the metal pattern and hydrophobic film with a mask configured to create at least one geometric shape in the hydrophobic film. 
     
     
         19 . The method from  claim 16  wherein applying the metal-coating includes electroless electroplating the planar hydrophobic film. 
     
     
         20 . The method from  claim 16  wherein applying the metal-coating in c) includes screen printing on the hydrophobic film. 
     
     
         21 . The method from  claim 16  wherein applying the metal-coating in c) includes vacuum deposition. 
     
     
         22 . The method from  claim 16  wherein applying the metal-coating in c) includes chemical vapor deposition. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 16  wherein etching the hydrophobic film in b) includes initially irradiating the hydrophobic film. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the metal features include silver, gold, nickel or copper. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the metal coating thickness is less than 2 micrometers. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the plurality of metal features includes a plurality of metal lines less than 3 micrometer wide. 
     
     
         27 . A self-cleaning surface comprising;
 a) a transparent substrate;   b) a transparent metal pattern coupled to a surface of the transparent substrate, the metal nano-web having a plurality of metal features;   c) a transparent hydrophobic material coupled to the metal pattern and the surface of the transparent substrate, wherein the substrate, the transparent metal pattern and hydrophobic material are configured to impart conductivity and super-hydrophobicity to the transparent substrate.   
     
     
         28 . The self-cleaning surface from  claim 27  further comprising d) one or more structures of located substantially within spaces between adjacent metal lines of the metal nano-web, wherein the structures are configured to impart super-hydrophobicity to the transparent substrate. 
     
     
         29 . The self-cleaning surface from  claim 28  wherein the one or more structures is formed in the transparent substrate. 
     
     
         30 . The self-cleaning surface from  claim 28  wherein a pitch between adjacent structures of the one or more structures is between 0.2 and 20 micrometer. 
     
     
         31 . The self-cleaning structure from  claim 28  where a thickness of the one or more structures is between 1 and 10 times a space between adjacent structures of the one or more structures. 
     
     
         32 . A method for making a transparent conducting self-cleaning surface comprising:
 a) forming a transparent metal pattern on a surface of the transparent substrate, the metal pattern having a plurality of metal features;   c) configuring the substrate and the transparent metal pattern to impart conductivity and super-hydrophobicity to the transparent conducting self-cleaning surface.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein configuring the substrate and the transparent metal pattern to impart conductivity and super-hydrophobicity to the transparent conducting self-cleaning surface includes coating the substrate and/or metal pattern with a hydrophobic material. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein configuring the substrate and the transparent metal pattern to impart conductivity and super-hydrophobicity to the transparent conducting self-cleaning surface includes forming one or more structures in the superhydrophobic material in spaces between adjacent metal features of the transparent metal pattern. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein configuring the substrate and the transparent metal pattern to impart conductivity and super-hydrophobicity to the transparent conducting self-cleaning surface includes
 a) applying a mask to a substrate, the mask having a pattern of openings;   b) etching the planar substrate through the openings in the mask to etch a pattern corresponding to the pattern of openings on the surface of the substrate;   c) applying a metal coating to the substrate, wherein the metal coating preferentially adheres to portions of the surface of the hydrophobic film etched in step b) thereby creating a metal pattern on the substrate corresponding to the pattern of openings in the mask; and   d) coating the substrate and metal pattern with a hydrophobic material.   
     
     
         36 . The method from  claim 35  wherein the pattern of openings in a) is arranged to also form a plurality of geometric structures on the surface of the substrate. 
     
     
         37 . The method from  claim 36  wherein the geometric structures are configured to produce a moth's eye type anti-reflective effect. 
     
     
         38 . The method from  claim 36  wherein the geometric structures are cones or pyramids or cylinders. 
     
     
         39 . The method from  claim 35  wherein the hydrophobic material is FDTS. 
     
     
         40 . The method from  claim 35  further comprising e) forming a plurality of geometric structures in the hydrophobic material by imprinting the hydrophobic material with the geometric structure and curing the hydrophobic material. 
     
     
         41 . The method from  claim 32  wherein the transparent substrate includes glass.