This invention relates to a coating method comprising sequentially applying a paint (X) and a paint (Y) to a substrate, and thermally curing two layers simultaneously, wherein the paint (X) contains a binder (XA), the paint (Y) contains a binder (YA) and an alkoxysilyl-containing organopolysiloxane (YB), the alkoxysilyl-containing organopolysiloxane (YB) has a solids content of 0.01 to 20 mass % based on the resin solids content of the binder (YA), and at least one of the paint (X) and the paint (Y) contains a catalyst (C) that promotes hydrolysis condensation of alkoxysilyl.

An example device includes a nanovoided polymer element, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The nanovoided polymer element may be located at least in part between the first electrode and the second electrode. In some examples, the nanovoided polymer element may include anisotropic voids. In some examples, anisotropic voids may be elongated along one or more directions. In some examples, the anisotropic voids are configured so that a polymer wall thickness between neighboring voids is generally uniform. Example devices may include a spatially addressable electroactive device, such as an actuator or a sensor, and/or may include an optical element. A nanovoided polymer layer may include one or more polymer components, such as an electroactive polymer.

A form birefringent optical element includes a structured layer and a dielectric environment disposed over the structured layer. At least one of the structured layer and the dielectric environment includes a nanovoided polymer, the nanovoided polymer having a first refractive index in an unactuated state and a second refractive index different than the first refractive index in an actuated state. Actuation of the nanovoided polymer can be used to reversibly control the form birefringence of the optical element. Various other apparatuses, systems, materials, and methods are also disclosed.

An optical element includes a nanovoided polymer layer having a first refractive index in an unactuated state and a second refractive index different than the first refractive index in an actuated state. Compression or expansion of the nanovoided polymer layer, for instance, can be used to reversibly control the size and shape of the nanovoids within the polymer layer and hence tune its refractive index over a range of values, e.g., during operation of the optical element. Various other apparatuses, systems, materials, and methods are also disclosed.

Examples include a device including a nanovoided polymer element having a first surface and a second surface, a first plurality of electrodes disposed on the first surface, a second plurality of electrodes disposed on the second surface, and a control circuit configured to apply an electrical potential between one or more of the first plurality of electrodes and one or more of the second plurality of electrodes to induce a physical deformation of the nanovoided polymer element.

An example device includes a nanovoided polymer element, which may be located at least in part between the electrodes. In some examples, the nanovoided polymer element may include anisotropic voids, including a gas, and separated from each other by polymer walls. The device may be an electroactive device, such as an actuator having a response time for a transition between actuation states. The gas may have a characteristic diffusion time (e.g., to diffuse half the mean wall thickness through the polymer walls) that is less than the response time. The nanovoids may be sufficiently small (e.g., below 1 micron in diameter or an analogous dimension), and/or the polymer walls may be sufficiently thin, such that the gas interchange between gas in the voids and gas absorbed by the polymer walls may occur faster than the response time, and in some examples, effectively instantaneously.

The present specification discloses porous materials, methods of forming such porous materials, biocompatible implantable devices that include such porous materials, and methods of making such biocompatible implantable devices.

A graded-index optical element may include a nanovoided material including a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. The nanovoided material may be transparent between the first surface and the second surface. Additionally, the nanovoided material may have a predefined change in effective refractive index in at least one axis due to a change in at least one of nanovoid size or nanovoid distribution along the at least one axis. Various other elements, devices, systems, materials, and methods are also disclosed.

The object of the present disclosure is to provide an automobile part capable of improving fuel consumption by weight reduction of the part because the impact resistance that can be sufficiently used even in cold regions can be given to a part made of a thinner plastic. An automobile part obtained by forming a coating film layer on a plastic material comprising a polypropylene resin composition modified with an elastomer component having a thickness of 1.5 to 2.5 mm, wherein said coating film layer is a multilayer coating film obtained by coating and baking the following coating compositions in this order; (a) a primer coating composition having a single film tensile elongation of 5 to 35% at ?20? C., (b) a base coating composition containing a coloring agent and, (c) a clear coating composition containing at least a linear acrylic polyol (c-1) with a hydroxyl value of 80 to 220 mgKOH/g, a crosslinked acrylic resin (c-2) containing 2 to 30 parts by weight of polyfunctional monomer (c-2-1) with 2 to 4 radically polymerizable unsaturated groups per a molecule and 98 to 70 parts by weight of monofunctional monomer (c-2-2) with one polymerizable unsaturated group as a constituent unit, and having a glass transition point of 70 to 120? C., and a curing agent (c-3), and wherein the coating film layer has a Dupont impact strength of 4.9 J or more at ?30? C.

The present invention provides a multi-layer coating system comprising: (a) a first coating layer formed from a first coating composition; and (b) a second coating layer applied directly over at least a portion of the first coating layer and formed from a second coating composition. The present invention further provides a substrate coated with the multi-layer coating system.