Electrooptical articles are devices that convert electrical signals into specially configured visible signals.

Such devices include flat panel displays in which a pattern is obtained by electrically activating each individual element in a two dimensional matrix. The technologies used in flat panel displays are based on light-generating (reactive) mechanisms and light-modulating (passive) mechanisms. Light-generating mechanisms include gas discharge, cathodoluminescence, electroluminescence and incandescence. Light-modulating mechanisms include liquid crystallinity, electromechanics, electrochemistry and electroactivity, e.g. ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism. See "Display Technology", Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Fifth Edition, 1987, Volume A8, pages 603-624, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Electrooptical articles of particular interest include liquid crystal displays, e.g., twisted nematic displays, which rely on electroconductive films to control the alignment of liquid crystal mixtures placed between the electroconductive films, and electrochromic devices which rely

on voltage supplied to an electroconductive film that is adjacent to an electrochromic film which in response to the supplied voltage undergoes a change in color thereby causing a change in light transmittance through the device. See U.S.

Patents 5,067,795 and 5,442,478, which are incorporated herein by reference, for further information on liquid crystal and electrochromic electrooptical devices, respectively.

In one particular electrooptical device, a ferromagnetic display, the electroconductive layer applied to the polymeric substrate is used as a minute electrical resistance heater. Visible changes in the ferromagnetic display are caused by local heating in the presence of a local magnetic field. Alternatively, the process of the present invention may also be used to produce adherent electroconductive metal oxide layers on polymeric substrates, which composite may be used in electrical resistance heating devices.

The adhesion of electroconductive metal oxide films directly to plastic substrates is typically unsatisfactory for the environmental durability and long-term cycling (coloring/bleaching cycles) requirements of electrooptical articles, e.g., electrochromic devices. As reported in U.S.

Patent 5,471,338, the adhesion of electroconductive metal oxide films to organic polymeric substrates is not generally adequate for electrochromic devices. The lack of adhesion, reported in U.S. Patent 5,471,338, was resolved hy applying an acrylate copolymer primer to the plastic substrate, before depositing an electroconductive film onto the substrate.

U.S. Patent 4,315,970 discloses a method of improving the adhesion of thin metal coatings to various solid substrates by pretreatment of the solid substrates with specific organofunctional silanes or mixtures of such

organofunctional silanes with organosilanes and thereafter depositing metals on the pretreated surface to form metal films or coatings.

It has now been discovered that an adherent electroconductive metal oxide surface may be formed on an organic polymeric substrate by the process of: (a) coating the polymeric substrate with a composition comprising at least one polymer-forming organosilane that forms a non-tintable coating; (b) drying and curing the coating of said organosilane- containing composition on said coated substrate, thereby producing a non-tintable cured coating on the polymeric substrate; and (c) applying an electroconductive metal oxide layer on the cured coating of (b).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a process for forming an adherent electroconductive metal oxide layer, i.e., a film or coating, on an organic polymeric substrate, to the resultant coated product and to articles, e.g., electrooptical devices such as liquid crystal displays, electrochromic articles and electrical resistance heating devices, incorporating the coated product. More particularly, the present invention is directed to coating an organic polymeric substrate with a composition containing at least one polymer- forming organosilane that upon drying and curing forms a preferably transparent, non-tintable coating that adheres to the polymeric substrate and to which non-tintable coating an electroconductive metal oxide film adheres. The non-tintable cured coating of the present invention also prevents crazing and/or cracking of the organic polymeric substrate or the

electroconductive metal oxide layer. Polymer-forming organosilanes that form tintable cured coatings have been found to provide a substrate to which electroconductive metal oxide coatings do not adequately adhere. Adhesion of such metal oxide coatings may be determined by the Scotch Tape Adhesion Test described herein.

The process of the present invention may be used to produce an improved electrochromic article having sequential layers comprising an organic polymeric substrate, a non- tintable organosilane polymeric film, an electroconductive metal oxide film and an electrochromic film. The process of the present invention may also be used to produce an improved electrochromic device having sequential layers comprising a first organic polymeric substrate, a first non-tintable cured organosilane polymeric film, a first electroconductive metal oxide film, a first electrochromic film, an ion-conducting polymer, a second electrochromic film, a second electroconductive metal oxide film, a second non-tintable cured organosilane polymeric film and a second organic polymeric substrate.

Electrooptical articles that may use articles produced by the present process are devices that have electroconductive layers in contact with switching mechanisms, such as liquid crystal mixtures or electrochromic films.

Typical uses for such devices include: displays for watches, calculators and computer screens; eye protection, such as eyeglasses, sunglasses and goggles of various types, e.g., welding goggles and ski goggles; switchable mirrors and sun visors; automotive, architectural, aircraft, marine and spacecraft windows; large area information displays, such as those used in airports, railway stations, motorways and for

stock exchange boards; voltage indicators; computer memory elements; and auto headlamp covers.

Other than in the operating examples, or where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities, ratios, ranges, etc. used herein are to be understood as modified in all instances by the term "about".

The polymer-forming organosilane that can be used in the process of the present invention include organosilane monomer(s), e.g., alkoxysilane monomers, hydrolysates thereof and mixtures of such silane monomers and hydrolysates, that produce non-tintable cured coatings which are preferably transparent. The term "transparent" is intended to mean that the non-tintable cured coating does not substantially change the percentage of visible light transmitted through a transparent polymeric substrate to which it is applied. The tintability of a coating is a function of the amount of dye that the coating acquires under certain defined conditions, as described herein, and which is expressed quantitatively by the percentage of light transmitted through the dyed coating.

Conventionally, tintability of a coating is measured by applying the coating to a transparent substrate, e.g., a lens, and determining the percent transmission of the substrate after it has been immersed for selected intervals in a standard dye that has been heated to 2000F. This Tintability Test is performed with an uncoated control. The percent transmission of the coated substrate at the time when the control demonstrates 50 percent transmission is the final result.

Testing of a coated substrate having one surface coated is accomplished by masking the other uncoated surface and performing the Modified Tintability Test. An indication of the tintability of a coated substrate is determined from

the percent transmission results of the Tintability Test or the Modified Tintability Test. For example, a coated substrate having a percent transmission of 90 is less tintable than a coated substrate having a percent transmission of 40 as measured by either tintability test. Since the results of the Modified Tintability Test have been found to be nearly equivalent to the results of the Tintability Test for non- tintable coatings on resin compositions of CR39 monomer, the percent transmission levels used to distinguish non-tintable coatings from tintable coatings are based on the Tintability Test. It is contemplated herein that a non-tintable coating is one having a percent transmission of at least 89, preferably, at least 90, and more preferably, at least 93, as measured by the Tintability Test. Non-tintable coatings having a percent transmission of less than 89 are also contemplated.

Suitable organosilane monomers that may be used in the process of the present invention include methyltrimethoxysilane, methyl-triethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxyethoxysilane, methyltriacetoxysilane, methyltripropoxysilane, methyltributoxysilane, ethyltrimethoxysilane, ethyltriethoxysilane, gamma-meth- acryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, gamma-aminopropyltri- methoxysilane, gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, gamma- mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, chloromethyltrimethoxysilane, chloromethytriethoxysilane, dimethyldiethoxysilane, gamma- chloropropylmethyldimethoxysilane, gamma-chloropropyl- methyldiethoxysilane, tetramethoxysilane, tetraethoxysilane, tetra-n-propoxysilane, tetra-n-butoxysilane, glycidoxymethyltriethoxysilane, alpha-glycidoxyethyltrimethoxysilane, alpha-glycidoxyethyl- triethoxysilane, beta-glycidoxyethyltrimethoxysilane,

beta-glycidoxyethyltriethoxysilane, alpha-glycidoxy- propyltrimethoxysilane, alpha-glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane, beta-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, beta-glycidoxypropyl- triethoxysilane, gamma-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, gamma-glycidoxypropylmethyldimethoxysilane, gamma-glycidoxy- propyldimethylethoxysilane, hydrolysates thereof, and mixtures of such silane monomers and their hydrolysates.

Other potential organosilane monomers, the polymers of which may function as the primer (adhesive layer) between the plastic substrate and electroconductive metal oxide, include the organosilanes disclosed in U.S. Patent 5,514,466, column 5, line 56 to column 7, line 12, which disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Patent 5,514,466, column 7, lines 8-12, discloses the use of organosilicon compounds containing the epoxy group and the glycidoxy group in a coating composition to impart dyeability. In the present invention, the use of such organosilanes in the coating composition is contemplated as long as the resulting dried and cured coating is non-tintable.

Preferably, the organosilanes used in the process of the present invention are selected from the group consisting of methyltrimethoxysilane, methyl-triethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxyethoxysilane, methyltri-acetoxysilane, methyltripropoxysilane, methyltributoxysilane, ethyltrimethoxysilane, ethyltriethoxysilane, gamma- methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, gamma-aminopropyltri- methoxysilane, gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, gamma- mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, chloromethyltrimethoxysilane, chloromethytriethoxysilane, dimethyldiethoxysilane, gamma-chloropropylmethyldimethoxysilane, gamma-chloropropyl- methyldiethoxysilane, tetramethoxysilane, tetraethoxysilane, tetra-n-propoxysilane, tetra-n-butoxysilane,

glycidoxymethyltriethoxysilane, hydrolysates thereof, and mixtures of such silane monomers and their hydrolysates.

It is known in the art that preparation of the surface of an organic polymeric substrate prior to applying a coating to the substrate enhances adhesion. Surface preparation may include ultrasonic cleaning; washing with an aqueous mixture of solvent, e.g., a 50:50 mixture of isopropanol: water or ethanol: water; activated gas treatment, e.g., treatment with low temperature plasma or corona discharge, and chemical treatment such as hydroxylation, i.e., etching of the surface with an aqueous solution of alkali, e.g., sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide that may also contain a fluorosurfactant. See U.S. Patent 3,971,872, column 3, lines 13 to 25; U.S. Patent 4,904,525, column 6, lines 10 to 48; and U.S. Patent 5,104,692, column 13, lines 10 to 59, which disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.

The organosilane primer coating composition is preferably applied to the polymeric organic substrate surface as a solution of organosilane monomers in an appropriate solvent, e.g., water or an aqueous solution of an organic solvent, e.g., alkanols, such as methanol and ethanol, by dip, flow or other conventional application techniques. The solvent is then evaporated and the polymeric organosilane primer cured by heating to elevated temperatures, typically 1040 to 2480F (400 to 1200C) for 2 to 16 hours or by exposing to W radiation when the coating composition includes a W polymerization initiator and at least one organosilane monomer having a functional group, e.g., vinyl, that is polymerizable with the W initiator. The organosilane coating composition will generally include a leveling amount of a surfactant, i.e., an amount sufficient to allow the coating to spread evenly on the surface of the substrate, a solvating amount of

a low molecular weight organic solvent, i.e., an amount sufficient to solubilize the organosilane monomers in the coating solution, a catalytic amount of a water-soluble acid, i.e., an amount sufficient to result in the polycondensation of the silane monomers, and water in an amount sufficient to form hydrolysates of the silane monomers and dissolve the catalytic amount of water-soluble acid.

The primer composition may be applied to the polymeric organic substrate by immersing the substrate into the primer monomer solution, removing the substrate from the primer solution, and drying and curing the resultant coating of primer on both surfaces of the substrate. In the case of a lens, an additional benefit of using the polymer-forming organosilane primer of the present invention is that removal of the primer from the surface of the substrate to which the electroconductive metal oxide is not applied is not necessary since the primer may also serve as a protective hardcoat. The primer solution may also be applied to a substrate by spin coating the monomer solution onto one surface of the substrate, and drying and curing the resulting primer coating.

The thickness of the primer coating is preferably in the range of from 0.01 to 10.0 microns, e.g., 0.1 to 8.0 microns.

A polymeric organic substrate to which the method of the present invention may be applied will usually be transparent, but may be translucent or even opaque.

Preferably, the polymeric substrate is a solid transparent or optically clear material, e.g., materials suitable for optical applications, such as plano and ophthalmic lenses, windows, automotive transparencies, e.g., windshields, aircraft transparencies, plastic sheeting, polymeric films, etc. More preferably, the polymeric organic substrate is suitable for producing lenses used in eyewear, such as lenses prepared from

synthetic organic optical resins. The transparent lens may have a refractive index within the range of between 1.48 and 1.75, e.g., from 1.50 to 1.66. More particularly, the lens may have a conventional refractive index (1.48-1.5), a relatively high refractive index (1.60-1.75), or a mid-range refractive index (1.55-1.56), depending on the end use.

Examples of polymeric substrates which may be used in the process of the present invention described herein include: polymers, i.e., homopolymers and copolymers, of polyol(allyl carbonate) monomers, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate monomers, diisopropenyl benzene monomers, and alkoxylated polyhydric alcohol acrylate monomers such as ethoxylated trimethylol propane triacrylate monomers; polymers, i.e., homopolymers and copolymers, of polyfunctional, i.e., mono-, di-, tri-, tetra, or multi- functional, acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, poly( C1-C12 alkyl methacrylates) such as poly(methyl methacrylate), polyoxy(alkylene methacrylates) such as poly(ethylene glycol bis methacrylates), poly(alkoxylated phenol methacrylates) such as poly(ethoxylated bisphenol A dimethacrylate), cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, poly(vinyl acetate), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinylidene chloride), polyurethanes, thermoplastic polycarbonates, polyesters, poly(ethylene terephthalate), polystyrene, poly (alpha methylstyrene), copoly(styrene-methyl methacrylate), copoly(styrene-acrylonitrile), polyvinylbutyral and polymers, i.e., homopolymers and copolymers, of diallylidene pentaerythritol, particularly copolymers with polyol (allyl carbonate) monomers, e.g., diethylene glycol bis(allyl carbonate), and acrylate monomers.

Transparent copolymers and blends of transparent polymers are also suitable as polymeric substrates.

Preferably, the polymeric substrate is an optically clear polymerized organic material prepared from a thermoplastic polycarbonate resin, such as the carbonate-linked resin derived from bisphenol A and phosgene, which is sold under the trademark, LEXAN; a polyester, such as the material sold under the trademark, MYLAR; a poly(methyl methacrylate), such as the material sold under the trademark, PLEXIGLAS; polymerizates of a polyol(allyl carbonate) monomer, especially diethylene glycol bis(allyl carbonate), which monomer is sold under the trademark CR-39, and polymerizates of copolymers of a polyol (allyl carbonate), e.g., diethylene glycol bis(allyl carbonate), with other copolymerizable monomeric materials, such as copolymers with vinyl acetate, e.g., copolymers of from 80-90 percent diethylene glycol bis(ally carbonate) and 10-20 percent vinyl acetate, particularly 80-85 percent of the bis(allyl carbonate) and 15-20 percent vinyl acetate, and copolymers with a polyurethane having terminal diacrylate functionality, as described in U.S. patent 4,360,653 and 4,994,208; and copolymers with aliphatic urethanes, the terminal portion of which contain allyl or acrylyl functional groups as described in U.S. Patent 5,200,483; poly(vinyl acetate), polyvinylbutyral, polyurethane, polymers of members of the group consisting of diethylene glycol dimethacrylate monomers, diisopropenyl benzene monomers, and ethoxylated trimethylol propane triacrylate monomers; cellulose acetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose butyrate, cellulose acetate butyrate, polystyrene and copolymers of styrene with methyl methacrylate, vinyl acetate and acrylonitrile. More particularly, the organic polymeric substrate is a solid homopolymer or copolymer of diethylene glycol bis(allyl

carbonate), poly(methyl methacrylate), thermoplastic polycarbonate or polyester.

The organosilane primer coating on the plastic substrate is conventionally prepared by ultrasonic cleaning, rinsing with distilled or deionized water and dried prior to the application of the electroconductive layer. The electroconductive layer applied to the primer surface may be any of those known in the art and may be in the form of a continuous film, discontinuous film, dispersed conductor or grid conductor. Preferably, the electroconductive layer is of the type used in electrooptical devices. Such layers are typically transparent thin films of metal oxide or mixtures of metal oxides. Examples of metal oxides that may be used in the electroconductive layer of the present invention include fluorine-doped tin oxide, tin-doped indium oxide, commonly referred to as ITO (indium/tin oxide), antimony-doped tin oxide, tin oxide, aluminum-doped zinc oxide, indium oxide, zinc oxide, indium-doped zinc oxide, cadmium stannate, cadmium oxide and mixtures thereof. Preferably, the metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of fluorine-doped tin oxide, tin-doped indium oxide (indium/tin oxide), antimony- doped tin oxide, tin oxide, aluminum-doped zinc oxide and mixtures thereof. More preferably, the metal oxide is selected from the group consisting of tin oxide and indium/tin oxide. Indium/tin oxide may have a weight ratio of indium to tin ranging from 95:5 to 50:50. Preferably, the weight ratio of indium to tin is 90:10.

The electroconductive layer has a sheet resistance in the range of from 5 to 200, preferably 10-100 ohms per square for desired electrical conductivity, a visible light transmittance of greater than 80 percent, and a thickness in the range of 500 to 10,000, preferably 800 to 2000 Angstroms.

The electroconductive layer may be deposited by a variety of methods known in the art so long as the substrate is not deleteriously affected by such method. High temperature pyrolytic methods may be used to deposit electroconductive layers on glass, but such methods generally are not suitable for lower melting polymeric substrates. A utilitarian method for depositing an electroconductive layer, such as ITO, on polymeric substrates is direct current (DC) sputtering. Examples of other techniques for depositing the electroconductive layer include, but are not limited to, vacuum deposition, metallic sputtering, evaporation, solution dipping, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, sol-gel techniques and spraying. A sputtering technique is described in U.S. Patent 4,420,385, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Vacuum web coating with a chilled drum is another method of coating an electroconductive film on plastic substrates.

In a particular embodiment, the process of the present invention may be used in the preparation of adjustable transparency spectacles incorporating liquid crystals.

Specifically, with reference to Example 1 of U.S. Patent 5,067,799, a nontintable cured coating of a polymer-forming organosilane may be first applied to a polymeric substrate prepared from CR-39 monomer in place of the blocking layer of Awl203 prior to depositing the electroconductive layer of ITO.

In a preferred embodiment, the process of the present invention is used in the preparation of electochromic devices, e.g., devices based on electrochromic switching mechanisms, such as electrochromic films. A conventional electrochromic cell comprises a thin film of a persistent electrochromic material, i.e., a material which in response to the application of an electric field of a given polarity and

sufficient voltage changes from a high-transmittance, non- absorbing state to a lower-transmittance, absorbing or reflecting state. The film of electrochromic material remains substantially in the lower-transmittance state after the electric field is discontinued. When an electric field of opposite polarity is applied to the electrochromic material, it returns to the prior high-transmittance state. The film of electrochromic material, which is both an ionic and electronic conductor, is in ion-conductive contact, preferably direct physical contact, with an electroconductive metal oxide layer on one side and a layer of ion-conductive material on the other side. The ion-conductive material may be a solid, liquid or gel. In some electrochromic cells, a complementary electrochromic film is used, while in other applications an optically passive film or metal is used in place of the complementary electrochromic film.

Materials which may comprise the electrochromic film include transition metal hydroxides and metal oxides such as tungsten oxide, molybdenum oxide, niobium oxide, vanadium oxide, titanium oxide, copper oxide, bismuth oxide, lead oxide, chromium oxide, rhodium oxide, cobalt oxide, manganese oxide, praseodymium oxide, ruthenium hydroxide, nickel oxide, osmium hydroxide and iridium oxide. The preferred metal oxides are tungsten oxide and iridium oxide. A more preferred iridium oxide is the nitrogen-containing iridium oxide described in U.S. Patent 5,520,851, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The electrochromic film may also comprise mixtures of any of the above, especially tungsten oxide-vanadium oxide, tungsten oxide-titanium oxide, molybdenum oxide-vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide-tungsten oxide, nickel oxide-manganese oxide, nickel oxide-cobalt oxide, iridium oxide-tin oxide,

iridium oxide-indium oxide. Other compounds which may be used as an electrochromic film include: heteropolyacids such as phospho-tungstic acid; redox compounds such as ferric ferrocyanide, lithium ferric ferrocyanide or Prussian blue; and metal oxide cermets, such as gold tungstate and platinum tungstate.

Electrochromic films may also comprise organic electrochromic materials such as viologens (halides of quaternary bases derived from 4,4'-dipyridinium, e.g., diheptylviolgen-dibromide, (bis-4-ethylpyridine-4' - yl)pyridium)-perchlorate; benzyl viologen; polyviologen dibromide mixtures such as l,1'-dibenzyl-4,4'-bipyridinium difluorborate and 5,10-dihydro-5,10 dimethylphenazine; methylviologen compounds; pyridine; ortho-toluidine, 4,4'- diamino-3,3'dimethylbiphenyl; anthraquinones such as 2- tertiary butylanthraquinone; phenothiazines such as methylene blue; tetra thiafulvalene; polymers such as pyrazoline; polythiophene; polyaniline; polytriphenylamine; phthalocyanine lanthanides such as lutetium diphthalocyanine; and tris(5,5'- dicarbo(3-acrylatoprop-1-oxy)-2,2'bipyridine) ruthenium(II).

Preferably, the electrochromic film is tungsten oxide and the complementary electrochromic film is iridium oxide.

The electrochromic film may be formed by any of a number of different and well known methods. Examples of such methods include: sputtering or reactive sputtering of electrochromic materials onto a substrate; chemical deposition from a solution; electrochemical deposition; evaporation; spinning; spraying; chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which includes plasma-enhanced CVD; vacuum evaporation which includes electron beam evaporation or using a reactive gas such as oxygen; and use of a sol-gel method. Deposition of the electrochromic materials may result in electrochromic

films in the dark (low transmittance) state or in the clear (high transmittance) state.

When iridium oxide is used as the electrochromic film, a complementary electrochromic film may be prepared using oxides of molybdenum (MoO3), tungsten (WO3), vanadium (V2Os), niobium (Nb2O5), titanium (TiO2), chromium (Cr203), praseodymium (PrO2), and ruthenium (RuO2). Tungsten oxide and compounds of tungsten oxide are preferred. In addition, ternary metal oxides and tungsten bronzes, such as MoWO3, NbWO3, KlxWO3 and Na1xWO3, wherein x is less than 1 may be used.

In contemplated embodiment of an electrochromic device, each of two plastic substrates, are primed with a non- tintable organosilane coating, coated with an electroconductive layer, and then further coated with an electrochromic film to form a half cell. The pair of half cells are assembled with an ion-conducting layer between the half cells to form a cell with the electrochromic films in a face to face relationship. Prior to cell assembly, at least one of the two half cells may be electrochemically charged, i.e., inserted with protons. The protons will migrate through the ion conducting layer in the completed cell and enable the concurrent changes of the electrochromic material in each half cell from a high transmitting, non-absorbing state to a lower transmitting, absorbing and reflecting state and vice versa.

The cell may be produced by preferably disposing an ion-conducting polymer (electrolyte) between the two half cells, e.g., a preformed solid sheet of an ion-conducting polymer, and laminating the resultant assembly, e.g., in an autoclave. The layer of ion-conducting material, preferably an ion-conducting polymer, bonds with both electrochromic surfaces to form a laminated article. Homopolymers of 2-

acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS - a registered trademark of Lubrizol) and copolymers of AMPS with various monomers may be utilized in the form of preformed sheets which are laminated between the substrates, or in the form of a liquid reaction mixtures of monomers which are cast and cured in place between the substrates. A preferred proton- conducting polymer electrolyte in accordance with the present invention is a copolymer of AMPS and N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA), preferably cast and cured in place. Preferred copolymers of AMPS and DMA are prepared from AMPS and DMA monomers in a molar ratio range of about 1:3 to 1:2. The thickness of the polymer electrolyte is at least 0.001 inch and preferably in the range of 0.001 to 0.025 inch (0.0254 to 0.625 millimeter).

The AMPS/DMA copolymer proton-conductive electrolyte is preferably cast in place as a solution of monomers in 1- methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) and water. The monomer solution contains a photoinitiator to polymerize the monomers upon exposure to visible or actinic radiation, e.g., ultraviolet (W) light. Preferred W initiators include benzoin methyl ether and diethoxyacetophenone. The monomer solution may be poured between two separate half-cells assembled together with a 0.005 to 0.025 inch (0.381 to 0.508 millimeter) TEFLONs spacer held in place with a commercially available sealant, e.g. Torr Seal from Varian Vacuum Products. Exposure to W light sufficient to cure the polymer electrolyte is typically about 30 minutes for a mercury lamp and about one to 3 minutes for a xenon lamp.

In addition to the above-described ion-conducting polymer electrolytes, other materials, as for example materials comprising hydrogen uranyl phosphate or polyethylene oxide/ LiC104, may also be employed. Also, inorganic films

such as LiNbO3, Lib3, LiTaO3, LiF, Ta205, Na2AlF6, Sb205-nH2O + Sub203, Na2O-11Al203, MgF2, ZrO2, Nub205 and Al2O3 are contemplated for use as the electrolyte material.

The present invention is more particularly described in the following example which is intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

EXAMPLE Coated lenses designated as tintable or non- tintable, as well as uncoated control lenses, were tested using the Tintability Test or the Modified Tintability Test, to quantitatively determine their tintability. The Tintability Test was used to measure the uptake of dye by both sides of a lens while the Modified Tintability Test measured dye uptake by one side of the lens. All of the lenses were prepared from a resin composition comprising CR-39 allyl diglycol carbonate monomer and the tintable or non-tintable lenses were coated with an organosilane coating by the lens supplier. The thickness of the primer on the different supplied lenses was reported as being within the range from about 0.5 to 4.0 microns.

The dye solution for the Tintability Test was prepared by adding 2.5 grams of Schwartz Hot Mix No. 3 Blue Dye to 2.5 liters of distilled water in a large beaker. The resulting dye solution was heated to 2000F (930C) and mixed for 30 minutes. Afterwards, the dye solution was added to a stainless steel bath that maintained a temperature of 200 + 3"F (93 + 2°C).

The dye solution for the Modified Tintability Test was prepared by adding 1 part BPI Molecular Catalytic Dye available from Brain Power Incorporated and 10 parts deionized

water to a stainless steel bath that maintained a temperature of 207 f 30F (97 f 20C) . The resulting dye solution was stirred for 1 hour prior to testing.

Control and coated lenses for the Tintability Test were washed in soapy water, rinsed with water, dried, placed in clamping devices and immersed in the dye bath. The same procedure was followed for the Modified Tintability Test except that one side of the lens was covered with 3M Plastic Tape #1640 before clamping and immersing in the dye. All of the lenses were tested in triplicate except for the Essilor of America, Inc. lenses and the corresponding uncoated control lenses in the Tintability Test, which were tested in duplicate.

Lenses were removed from the dye bath in the Tintability Test after 5 and 10 minutes, immersed in and rinsed with deionized water, air dried at room temperature or manually wiped with absorbent tissue and tested in a Hunter spectrophotometer for percent transmission. The same procedure was followed for the Modified Tintability Test except that the lenses were removed from the dye bath after 10 and 20 minutes, except the Essilor of America (EOA) lens and their corresponding uncoated controls which were removed after 9 and 18 minutes. The plastic tape was removed and lenses were washed with soapy water to remove any adhesive remaining after removing the plastic tape. Plastic tape was re-applied to one side of the lenses before re-immersing them in the dye bath.

The percent transmission through a 1 inch diameter area of each sample lens was determined after the pre- determined time intervals, e.g., 5 and 10 minutes, in the dye bath. A line connecting these points was drawn on a graph of percent transmission versus time for each sample. Each dyed

control sample had one point greater than 50 percent transmission and one point less than 50 percent transmission.

The time at which the dyed control sample had a percent transmission of 50 percent was identified. Using that time coordinate and the line equation for the dyed coated samples, the percent transmission for each coated sample was determined. The tintability of the coated lens corresponded to the percent transmission, e.g., the greater the percent transmission, the less tintable the lens, and the lower the percent transmission, the more tintable the lens. The results from the Tintability Test and the Modified Tintability Test are listed in Table 1.

An electroconductive film of indium tin oxide (ITO) was applied to the organosilane coated side of each of the coated lenses listed in Table 1 using DC magnetron sputtering at 950F (350C), an atmosphere of 90 percent argon and 10 percent oxygen, and an indium-tin oxide sputtering target composed of 90 weight percent indium oxide and 10 weight percent tin oxide. A thin film of nitrogen-containing iridium oxide, the composition of which is described in U.S. Patent 5,520,851, was deposited on the electroconductive layer using a DC magnetron sputtering system. Following deposition of the nitrogen-containing iridium oxide, the resultant coated lens was electrochemically charged in 0.1 normal aqueous hydrochloric acid (HCl). The accumulated charge was approximately 23 millicoulumbs per square centimeter (mC/cm2).

The electrochemical preconditioning was accomplished under galvanostatic conditions, where the applied current was 1.5x10-3 amps, and the voltage limit set at 1.5 volts.

After electrochemical charging, the coated substrates were evaluated for adhesion of the metal oxide coating with the Scotch Tape Adhesion Test. Testing was performed by applying 3M Scotch Tape #600 to the metal oxide side of each coated lens and removing it. The pass or fail determination was made visually, e.g., if metal oxide was present on the tape after removal from the coated substrate, the result was designated as "failed"; if no metal oxide was present on the tape, the result was designated as "passed".

Testing was done in triplicate and in each case, all of the tested lenses passed or failed. The results are reported in Table 1.

TABLE 1 ADHESION OF METAL COATING TESTED OXIDE TO PRIMED PERCENT TRANSMISSION SUBSTRATE Modified Tintability Tintability Test Test CONTROL 50 50 NOT APPLICABLE TRUE-TINTB1 41.61 23.6 FAILED (TINTABLE) 2 ARMORLITE2 45.5 37.0 FAILED RLXPlusS (TINTABLE) VISION-EASE3 50.2 32.1 FAILED SRCIII (TINTABLE) PERMA-GARD 58.0 42.6 FAILED (TINTABLE) SILOR NT5 93.0 -- PASSED (NON-TINTABLE) EOA6 95.64 96.0 PASSED (NON-TINTABLE)

1 Silor, Division of Essilor of America, Inc.

St. Petersburg, FL 33716 Signet Armorlite, Inc., San Marcos, CA 92069 3 Vision-Ease Lens, 700 54th Ave. N., P.O.Box 968, St.

Cloud, MN 56302 Sola Optical USA, Inc., 1500 Cader Lane, P.O. Box 6002, Petaluma, CA 94953-6002 Silor, Division of Essilor of America, Inc. St.

Petersburg, FL 33716 6 Essilor of America, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL 33716.

The results in Table 1 show that the lenses having a tintable coating range in percent transmission from about 41 to 58 (as measured by the Tintability Test) and from about 23 to 43 (as measured by the Modified Tintability Test), and the lenses having a non-tintable coating range from about 93 to 96 percent transmission (as measured by the Tintability Test).

The percent transmission of the EOA (non-tintable) lens determined using the Modified Tintability Test was almost equivalent to that determined using the Tintability Test, i.e., 96 percent as compared to 95.64 percent. The non- tintable designated lenses passed the adhesion test whereas the tintable lenses failed. Consequently, non-tintable organosilane coatings are useful as a primer for electroconductive metal oxide coatings.

The present invention has been described with reference to specific details of particular embodiments thereof. It is not intended that such details be regarded as limitations upon the scope of the invention except insofar as to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims.