A coating for spark plugs and engine parts is resistant to fouling. The coating may be applied to the spark plug or engine part by dipping the part in a sol gel solution, ensuring it wets the part, and extracting it at a slow, controlled rate. As the part is allowed to dry, the sol gel reacts with moisture in the air to form a thin oxide film. Unlike conventional sol gel applications, which apply the oxide directly to the part, the present invention may form an oxide coating, in situ, while drying in place on the part.

An electrochemical device for purifying a fluid, for example wastewater or sludge, includes an electrochemical filtering membrane, including a metallic support, for example chosen from a screen, a fabric or an open-pore foam, the support being permeable to the fluid, a coating layer of the support including a titanium oxide of general formula TiOx, with x between 1.5 and 1.9.

A method for producing a layer for coating the inner surface of a container and a glass or plastic container obtained by said method, wherein said container is suitable for containing products biocompatible with humans and/or animals. The method includes: forming a solution containing a solvent, water, a molecular precursor comprising alkoxy groups and an acid as a catalyst, mixing said solution to initiate hydrolysis and condensation, applying the resulting solution onto at least one portion of the inner surface of the container, while the solution is in the process of gelling, the resulting applied solution is then dried at a temperature for a predetermined time, before curing. The acid is citric acid, wherein said citric acid is at a concentration of less than 6 mol/l, and in that the solution comprises less than 1.5 units of precursor for each volume unit of acid.

Provided is a ceramic coating intended to be applied on a metal support and having the form of at least a continuous film having a thickness between 2 and 100 μm, this coating comprising a matrix including at least a metal polyalkoxide and wherein are dispersed particles whereof the diameter ranges between 0.01 and 50 μm, said particles being from a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or higher than 10 W.Math.m.sup.−1.Math.K.sup.−1 and a bulk density of at the most 3.9 g/cm.sup.3. Also provided is an article, for example culinary, comprising such a coating and its method of manufacture.

The present invention describes a hybrid multilayer solar selective coating having high thermal stability useful for high temperature solar thermal power generation. The hybrid multilayer solar selective coating of the present invention has been deposited using a novel combination of sputtering and sol-gel methods on metallic and non-metallic substrates, preferably on SS 304 and 321 with chrome interlayer. The hybrid multilayer solar selective coating of the present invention consists of stacks of Ti/chrome interlayer, aluminum titanium nitride (AlTiN), aluminum titanium oxynitride (AlTiON), aluminum titanium oxide (AlTiO) and organically modified silica (ormosil) layers. The chrome interlayer was deposited using an electroplating method, whereas, Ti, AlTiN, AlTiON and AlTiO layers were prepared using a four-cathode reactive unbalanced pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering technique. The ormosil layer was deposited using a sol-gel technique, which provides the enhanced absorptance and improved long term thermal stability in air and vacuum. The present invention provides a hybrid multilayer solar selective coating having absorptance >0.950, emittance <0.11 (SS substrate with chrome interlayer) and long term high thermal stability (in the order of 1000 hrs under cyclic heating conditions at 500° C. in air and 600° C. in vacuum). The hybrid multilayer solar selective coating of the present invention exhibits higher solar selectivity ratio in the order of 5-9 on metal and non-metal substrates. The hybrid multilayer solar selective absorber coating of the present invention has high oxidation resistance, stable microstructure, high adherence and graded composition particularly suitable for applications in concentrating collectors like evacuated receiver tubes and Fresnel receiver tubes useful for solar steam generation.

An organic-inorganic hybrid material is disclosure. The organic inorganic hybrid material contains 5˜50 wt % of inorganic compounds and has a characteristic peak at 1050±50 cm.sup.−1 in FTIR spectrum. Furthermore, the invention also provides a fabricating process of the organic-inorganic hybrid material as well as its starting material “isocyanates”. In particular, the isocyanates are prepared from carbonate containing compounds and amines.

The present invention relates to a continuous roll-to-roll process for improving the water tolerance of bio-based polymers, in particular cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) films. Furthermore, the invention provides a method, which combines surface modification/functionalization for improving water stability and wet strength, UV/Ozone treatment, corona treatment or plasma activation for purifying and activating the surface and thus increasing the reaction efficiency, and further hydrophobization of the surface of CNF film.

A method of forming a cured film on an aluminum substrate includes depositing a film formed from a sol-gel coating composition onto the aluminum substrate without disposing a conversion coating composition onto the aluminum substrate. The method also includes, after depositing, curing the film. A coating system includes an aluminum substrate having a surface and a cured film disposed on and in contact with the surface. The cured film is formed from a sol-gel coating composition. The coating system is free from a layer formed from a conversion coating composition.

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a bi-layer coated steel substrate comprising an inner inorganic ceramic layer and an external sol-gel layer, or alternatively an inner sol-gel layer and an external inorganic ceramic layer and to the bi-layer coated steel substrate obtainable by this process.

Provided is a barrier film, comprising: a base layer; and an inorganic layer including Si, N, and O, wherein the inorganic layer has a thickness of 600 nm or less, and the film has a water vapor transmission rate of 0.5×10.sup.−3 g/m.sup.2.Math.day as measured under conditions of a temperature of 38° C. and 100% relative humidity. The barrier film has excellent barrier properties and optical properties and can be used for electronic products sensitive to moisture.