Highly efficient and industrially viable waterborne anti-fingerprint coating on anodized aluminum surfaces for mobile devices

• This paper presented an industrially viable anti-fingerprint (AF) coating method where the coating layer is achieved by simply immersing in waterborne coating bath. • We demonstrated the mass-production applicability by coating 572 laptop housings (i.e., model: Galaxy book, 13-inch) in an actual industrial mass-production line over the course of 10 days. • This coating process yields conformal fluorocarbon bonds on surfaces and CA of which is 124 ± 2.3°, which is primarily due to chemical modification (i.e., low-surface energy) without contributions from micro/nanostructure effects. • Moreover, we proposed an evaluation method to check the service life of the coating bath which is a vital parameter to monitor the system for mass production Although technical specifications have always been a priority in mobile devices, in this modern age, consumers also place enormous value on the aesthetic appeal of their personal electronic devices. Fingerprint smudges and other contaminants on the product compromise their visual appeal and competitiveness. Therefore, fingerprint-resistant exterior surfaces for mobile devices have become more desirable within the industry. Current methods to make the surface resistant to fingerprint deposits use liquid-repellent surfaces. On such surfaces, the primary components of fingerprints that remain are minimized and easily removed. However, these works introduced in many papers still remain at the research level, and lack applicability for industrial purposes due to several factors, such as low yield rate induced from mass-production, vulnerability to physical stimuli, usage of toxic solvents, etc. Moreover, the most common industrial anti-fingerprint (AF) coatings require a special facility and additional tasks such as shipment and vacuuming to operate them. This, in turn, also increases the price. Herein, we introduced the water-borne AF coating system that can considerably increase simplicity and efficiency in manufacturing. The main component of coating consists of phosphate and fluorocarbon which allow good solubility to water and AF functions. We demonstrated the coating quality and industrial applicability by coating more than 570 samples in a real industrial mass-production line. Moreover, we proposed an evaluation method to check the service life of the coating bath.