Bio-Inspired Hard Coating for Polymeric Materials Based on Lamination of Ordered Porous Anodized Zirconia Membranes.

Hard and transparent zirconia films were successfully formed on a polycarbonate (PC) surface under mild preparation conditions (low temperature and ambient-pressure). Our process is based on the lamination of porous anodized zirconia membranes (PAZM) to the PC surface, followed by mechanical peeling with tweezers. By heating PC above its glass transition temperature, molten PC was successfully pulled into the nanopores through capillary force, followed by cooling to readily anchor the PAZM securely to the PC surface. Consequently, our resulting PAZM-laminated PC surface exhibited excellent adhesion and surface mechanical properties, while preserving the optical and bulk properties of the polymer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]