Antireflection film and method for manufacturing the same

An antireflection film, comprising a substrate coated with a film composed of a first film compound having a first functional group and a plurality of transparent fine particle layers each formed of arranged transparent fine particles, wherein:

• the transparent fine particle layers are sequentially layered in order on a surface of the substrate from the first layer to the n-th layer (n represents an integer equal to or greater than 2) in a direction from the coated substrate side toward an air interface side;
• the surface of the transparent fine particle forming the x-th transparent fine particle layer (x is an integer;
• 1≦m≦n) is coated with a film composed of an m-th film compound having an (x+1)-th functional group;
• and
• the (x−1)-th and x-th transparent fine particle layers are fixed to each other via bonds formed by:
• a coupling reaction between a x-th functional group and a x-th coupling reactive group of an x-th coupling agent having at least one x-th coupling reactive group that forms a bond through a coupling reaction with the x-th functional group and at least one (x+1)-th coupling reactive group that forms a bond through a coupling reaction with the (x+1)-th functional group;
• and a coupling reaction between the (x+1)-th functional group and the (x+1)-th coupling reactive group.

A method for manufacturing an antireflection film comprising a substrate coated with a film composed of a first film compound having a first functional group and a first bonding group at each end thereof, and a transparent fine particle layer formed as an array of transparent fine particles each coated with a film composed of a second film compound having a second functional group and a second bonding group at each end thereof and bound and fixed to a surface of the substrate, comprising:

• a step A of bringing a solution comprising the first film compound into contact with the surface of the substrate to form a bond between the first bonding group and the surface of the substrate to thereby prepare a coated substrate having a surface coated with a film composed of the first film compound;
• a step B of bringing a solution comprising the second film compound into contact with the surface of the transparent fine particle to form a bond between the second bonding group and the surface of the first transparent fine particle to thereby prepare a first coated transparent fine particle having a surface coated with a film composed of the second film compound;
• and
• a step C of bringing a first coupling agent having at least one first coupling reactive group that forms a bond through a coupling reaction with the first functional group and at least one second coupling reactive group that forms a bond through a coupling reaction with the second functional group into contact with the surface of the coated substrate and the surface of the first coated transparent fine particle to form bonds through coupling reactions between the first functional group and the first coupling reactive group and between the second functional group and the second coupling reactive group to thereby bind and fix one transparent fine particle layer composed of the first coated transparent fine particles to the surface of the coated substrate, followed by removing the first coated transparent fine particles that remain unfixed,
• wherein each of the bonds formed by the coupling reactions is an N—CH2CH(OH) bond formed by a reaction between an amino or imino group and an epoxy group, or an NH—CONH bond formed by a reaction between an amino or imino group and an isocyanate group.