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ETH Zurich researchers developed a transparent, nanoscale gold-based coating that uses sunlight to warm an eyeglass lens, making fog less likely and helping it clear faster. In laboratory tests, the coating improved fog resistance by about fourfold and cleared fog up to three times faster than uncoated samples. It does not make glasses permanently fog-proof: its heating depends on available light, and those results do not establish performance in every setting or for every commercial lens.
Why do glasses fog up?
Fog forms when water vapor condenses into droplets on a relatively cool lens. The droplets scatter light, blurring vision. Anti-fog methods address that condensation in different ways: many treatments encourage water to spread into a thin film, while the ETH Zurich coating warms the lens surface so droplets are less likely to form.
How does the gold coating work?
The coating contains an engineered, percolating layer of gold about 10 nanometers thick. It absorbs a substantial portion of near-infrared sunlight while allowing visible light through, so the lens can remain transparent for viewing. The absorbed light becomes heat at the lens surface. ETH says the material is deposited under vacuum using vapor deposition; it also describes the later version as thinner and more pliable than an earlier coating, with possible integration beneath other coatings. ETH Zurich’s explanation of the coating and the peer-reviewed study describe the design.
What did the study actually measure?
Hächler and colleagues reported the following results for experimental samples in their Nature Nanotechnology paper, published online on 12 December 2022 and in the journal’s 2023 issue:
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| Measure | Reported result | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Fog resistance | About fourfold improvement versus uncoated samples | An experimental comparison, not a guarantee against fog in all conditions. |
| Fog removal | Up to three times faster versus uncoated samples | A maximum reported improvement in the study, not a universal clearing time. |
| Temperature rise | Up to 8.3 °C above ambient under one-sun illumination | A measured result at that illumination level; the rise is not assured in ordinary use. |
| Reduced illumination | Effectiveness tested at illumination as low as 0.2 suns | A reported test condition, not evidence of guaranteed performance in all cloudy or dim environments. |
The study reports results indoors and outdoors, including under cloudy conditions. Lower illumination does not eliminate the basic trade-off: the coating needs light to generate heat. The paper’s measurements demonstrate promise under its test conditions, but they are not a field guarantee for every climate, lens shape, coating stack, or use pattern. Read the study, “Transparent sunlight-activated antifogging metamaterials.”
How is this different from anti-fog spray?
Many conventional anti-fog treatments are hydrophilic: they help condensed water spread across a surface as a thin film instead of separate light-scattering droplets. The ETH approach is photothermal, using absorbed sunlight to warm the lens and suppress condensation. Those are different mechanisms, and a spray should not be assumed to contain or reproduce the ETH/Solabs coating.
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Sprays are an existing practical option, but their effect may diminish as the treatment dries or becomes uneven. In ETH’s 2019 account of an earlier coating iteration, doctoral student Christopher Walker said: “Spray treatments often lose their effect after a while because the anti-fog film dries up or becomes unevenly distributed,” ETH’s 2019 report described that earlier coating and its tests. It reported fogged surfaces clearing four times faster than surfaces treated with a conventional anti-fog agent in those tests. That result belongs to the earlier coating and a different comparison baseline; it should not be conflated with the later study’s comparison against uncoated samples.
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Can sunlight keep glasses from fogging in everyday use?
It may help, but “sunlight-activated” is a meaningful limitation, not a promise of all-weather protection. The coating converts available near-infrared radiation into heat; shade, indoor lighting, weather, lens orientation, and other conditions affect how much energy reaches the surface. ETH doctoral student Iwan Hächler explained: “Our coating absorbs a large proportion of the infrared radiation, which causes it to heat up – by up to 8 degrees Celsius,” The up-to figure describes the reported heating, not a constant temperature rise for every wearer.
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Warming can both make condensation less likely and help existing fog clear. It does not establish that a lens will never fog when conditions overwhelm the available heating, or that performance continues unchanged indefinitely.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are gold-coated anti-fog glasses available?
There is now a specific announced sports-eyewear integration, but that is narrower than general availability for prescription glasses. ETH reported in August 2023 that researchers were working to make the process market-ready. On 22 April 2026, React Switzerland announced optray sky SDT sports eyewear incorporating Solabs Solar Defog Technology. That announcement establishes a product launch statement; it does not by itself verify current stock, price, independent retail-product testing, or prescription-lens availability. ETH’s Solabs project page describes the commercialization effort, and React’s announcement describes the sports-eyewear integration.
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ETH said in 2022 that it had applied for a patent, and the ETH Foundation has described the Solabs coating as patent-pending. React’s announcement calls its product coating patented. These statements do not establish the scope or global status of any patent, so the product announcement should not be read as confirmation of patent coverage everywhere.
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What should glasses wearers take away?
- The gold layer is nanoscale and designed to absorb infrared light while transmitting visible light; it is not an opaque gold film.
- The peer-reviewed results support improved fog resistance and faster clearing under tested conditions, not the headline promise of ending fog forever.
- Sprays and photothermal coatings work differently. A spray may be a simpler existing option, while the sunlight-powered approach depends on illumination and specialized lens integration.
- The 2026 announcement is a specific sports-eyewear example, not evidence that the technology is broadly offered on prescription lenses.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
