A cooking appliance with a cooktop includes a glass-ceramic substrate with a top surface for receiving cookware thereon for heating. The surface includes a coating formed by applying a sol-gel coating to the surface after the surface is roughened to increase the surface roughness of the top surface and improve adhesion of the coating thereon. The sol-gel coating forms a matte finish on the cooktop while having anti-stick properties for cleanability.

A thin-film coating applicator assembly is disclosed for coating substrates in outdoor applications. The innovative thin-film coating applicator assembly is adapted to apply performance enhancement coatings on installed photovoltaic panels and glass windows in outdoor environments. The coating applicator is adapted to move along a solar panel or glass pane while applicator mechanisms deposit a uniform layer of liquid coating solution to the substrate's surface. The applicator assembly comprises a conveyance means disposed on a frame. Further disclosed are innovative applicator heads that comprise a deformable sponge-like core surrounded by a microporous layer. The structure, when in contact with a substrate surface, deposits a uniform layer of coating solution over a large surface.

Provided are an antireflection film having a high antireflection effect in a broad band, including, on a substrate, in this order: a particle layer containing particles; and a layer having a textured structure containing aluminum oxide as a main component, in which the particle layer has an aluminum oxide textured structure between the particles, and an optical member and an optical apparatus each using the antireflection film.

The present invention, relates, to a process, for producing structured coatings, in which a coating composition comprising at least one inorganic binder, at least one oxide pigment which, after addition of a mixture consisting of 15 ml of 1 M oxalic acid and 15 ml of 20% aqueous hydrochloric acid based on 1 g of substance, under standard conditions, leads to a temperature rise of at least 4° C., and at least one solvent is applied to a substrate, the resulting coating composition film is partially coated with a photoresist and the substrate coated with the coating composition and the photoresist is treated with an acid, to the structured layers obtainable by the process and to the use thereof.

Antireflective nanoparticle coatings and methods of forming the coatings on substrates are disclosed. One method for forming an antireflective coating includes depositing a nanoparticle coating layer on a substrate, wherein the nanoparticle coating layer includes a colloidal solution of nanoparticles and a solidifying material. The solidifying material includes a silica precursor. The method further includes curing the solidifying material to form silica inter-particle connections between adjacent nanoparticles and between at least some of the nanoparticles and the substrate to bind the nanoparticles to each other and to the substrate to form the antireflective coating.

The invention relates to a method for obtaining a magnesium fluoride (MgF.sub.2) sol solution, comprising the steps of providing a magnesium alkoxide precursor in a non-aqueous solvent and adding 1.85 to 2.05 molar equivalents of non-aqueous hydrofluoric acid, characterized in that the reaction proceeds in the presence of a second magnesium fluoride precursor selected from the group of salts of strong, volatile acids, such as a chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate or triflate of magnesium, or of a catalytic amount of a strong, volatile acid; and/or an additive non-magnesium fluoride precursor selected from the group of salts of strong, volatile acids, such as a chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate or triflate of lithium, antimony, tin calcium, strontium, barium, aluminium, silicium, zirconium, titanium or zinc. The invention further relates to sol solutions, method of applying the sol solutions of the invention to surfaces as a coating, and to antireflective coatings obtained thereby.

A method is provided for producing a glass or glass ceramic article that includes: providing a sheet-like glass or glass ceramic substrate having two opposite faces, which in the visible spectral range from 380 nm to 780 nm exhibits light transmittance of at least 1% for visible light that passes from one face to the opposite face; providing an opaque coating on one face where the coating exhibits light transmittance of not more than 5% in the visible spectral range from 380 nm to 780 nm; and directing a pulsed laser beam onto the opaque coating and locally removing the coating by ablation down to the surface of the glass or glass ceramic article, repeatedly at different locations, thereby producing a pattern of a multitude of openings defining a perforated area in the opaque coating, so that the opaque coating becomes semi-transparent in the area.

A glazing, which may be translucent, includes at least one design, which may be transparent. The glazing includes a substrate having two main outer surfaces, at least one of which is a textured surface, made of a dielectric material having a refractive index n1 and at least a part of the textured surface of the substrate is coated with a sol-gel layer made of a dielectric material having a refractive index n2.

A method of coating a substrate is disclosed. The method comprising the steps of that includes providing a substrate having a first surface, providing a particle based coating composition comprising particles, applying the coating composition to at least a part of the first surface of the substrate, and converting the particle based coating composition on the first surface of the substrate into a functional coating having a thickness of 50 nm to 25 μmas measured along across section in a scanning electron microscope (SEM), wherein the particle based coating composition comprises nanoparticle, and converting the particle based coating composition involves a high intensity energy source heating at least a part of the coating composition, wherein the high intensity energy source is selected from the group of certain CO2 lasers and flame arrays. Furthermore an apparatus for preparing a coating is disclosed.

Described are thermochromic materials. Described thermochromic materials include materials comprising vanadium (IV) oxide and a solid component obtained from a precursor having film-forming properties. Also described are preparation methods for thermochromic materials.