A piston having a piston crown with a combustion chamber, and a circumferential ring belt extending from the piston crown and having a plurality of ring grooves separated by piston lands. At least one of the piston lands, ring grooves or top surface of the crown is provided with a coating comprising hexagonal boron nitride. The coating can be made solely of hexagonal boron nitride, or can additionally include a resin. The coating can be a single layer coating or a multiple layer coating.

The invention discloses a metal and semi-metal oxide powder that, when applied to an environment, inhibits the growth of colonies of microorganisms, wherein the powder includes particles comprising a particle size distribution between 0.1 to 100 microns, which are formulated as a strongly bonded, porous, composite of nano-scale grains of materials wherein the grains have a surface area of 75 to 300 m.sup.2/g and which have less than about 10.sup.−4% of free radical species by weight, and wherein the powder is adapted to release reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst when the particles come into contact with a microorganism.

A coated body is obtained by providing a surface layer of a coating composition on a substrate, wherein the surface layer contains cerium oxide particles having an oxygen-deficient fluorite structure and having an average crystallite diameter of 10 nm or less, and the cerium oxide particles have, in a Raman spectrum, a peak that is attributed to the F2g vibration mode of a Ce—O bond and that is offset by more than 2 cm.sup.−1 toward the lower wavenumber from a peak that is attributed to the F2g vibration mode of a Ce—O bond and that is obtained when a standard substance is measured. This coated body significantly suppresses fungal growth inside of a door and algal growth outside of a door for a long period of time.

A floor plank having a rigid, composite core having an upper side and a underside, the core being thermally stable and formed of PVC and calcium carbonate material that does not include ortho-phthalates, a wood veneer having a lower surface on the upper side of the core and further including an exposed surface, a protective coating on the exposed surface of the wood veneer, the protective coating formed of catalyzed polyurethane having aluminum oxide particles, and a thermo-acoustic cushion coating on the back surface of the core. A method of making is also provided.

A formulation for a coating for applications on maritime infrastructure or vessels to inhibit fouling and corrosion that comprises: (a) a nano-active material; and (b) a polymer binder; and (c) additives which include pigments, booster antifoulants, booster anticorrosion materials, solvents, polymerisation activators, viscosity modifiers and fillers, where the nano-active material, the binder and additives provide the coating with the desired most desirable properties of antifoul, anticorrosion, adhesion, and strength, required for the coating application.

Provided is an antifouling coating composition, which can form a coating film having good hardness and good physical properties and having a wear degree appropriate for expressing a long-term antifouling effect, has a viscosity not being excessively high, and makes it possible to reduce a content of volatile organic compounds, and a polymer-containing composition which is suitable for obtaining the antifouling coating composition. The polymer-containing composition contains a (meth)acryl-based copolymer (A-1), in which the (meth)acryl-based copolymer (A-1) contains a constitutional unit (U11) or a constitutional unit (U12) having carboxylate forming an ionic bond with a divalent metal atom, and has a weight-average molecular weight of 1,000 to 5,000, and the polymer-containing composition has a coating film hardness (Martens hardness) equal to or higher than 2.5 N/mm.sup.2.

Aspects of this disclosure pertain to a colorless material that includes a carrier, copper-containing particles, and either one or both of sodium thiocyanate and titanium dioxide. In one or more embodiments, the material exhibits, in the CIE L*a*b* system, an L* value in the range from about 91 to about 100, and a C* value of less than about 7, wherein C* equals √(a*.sup.2+b*.sup.2). In some embodiments, the material exhibits a greater than 3 log reduction in a concentration of Staphylococcus aureus, under the EPA Test Method for Efficacy of Copper Alloy as a Sanitizer testing conditions.

The invention relates generally to liquid-repellent coatings, and in particular, to porous liquid-repellent coatings, a method of preparing the porous liquid-repellent coatings, and a method of characterizing a porous surface for the liquid-repellent coatings. The invention further relates to a porous liquid-repellent coating comprising a porous layer of a transition metal oxide and/or hydroxide and a layer of a liquid-repellent compound deposited onto the porous layer of the transition metal oxide and/or hydroxide, wherein the porous layer of the transition metal oxide and/or hydroxide is comprised of a plurality of surface pores of varying angles with an average angle that is re-entrant.

A surface-treating agent containing a fluorine-containing silane compound; and a metal compound, wherein a metal atom contained in the metal compound is one or more metal atoms selected from transition metal atoms of Groups 3 to 11 and typical metal atoms of Groups 12 to 15 of the periodic table.

Provided are a photocatalyst transfer film allowing a photocatalyst layer that is uniform, highly transparent, and exhibits an antimicrobial property in dark places to be transferred to the surfaces of various transfer base materials; and a production method thereof. The photocatalyst transfer film has, on a base film, a photocatalyst layer containing a titanium oxide particle-containing photocatalyst, antimicrobial metal-containing alloy particles, a silicon compound and a surfactant. The production method of the photocatalyst transfer film includes applying a photocatalyst coating liquid to a base film; and performing drying. The photocatalyst coating liquid contains a titanium oxide particle-containing photocatalyst, antimicrobial metal-containing alloy particles, a silicon compound, a surfactant and an aqueous dispersion medium.