Antimicrobial treatment for hvac systems

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for an automotive vehicle, the system comprising:

• a housing including an air intake in which air is received and an air outlet from which air is discharged;
• an evaporator core supported within the housing and disposed in fluid communication with the air intake and the air outlet thereof, the evaporator core including an upstream inlet face in which humid air is received, a downstream outlet face from which dehumidified air is discharged, and a plurality of air-contacting surfaces extending between the inlet and outlet faces;
• and
• an antimicrobial coating formed on the air-contacting surfaces of the evaporator core, the antimicrobial coating comprising an ionic material having immobilized ionic groups of one type of charge and mobile counterions of another type of charge, wherein the mobile counterions are ionically associated with the immobilized ionic groups.