A method, and an article made therefrom, of: contacting a substrate with a first solution of a first polyelectrolyte polymer to form a layer of the first polyelectrolyte polymer on the substrate; and contacting the layer of the first polyelectrolyte polymer with a second solution of a second polyelectrolyte polymer to form a layer of the second polyelectrolyte polymer on the layer of the first polyelectrolyte polymer. The first polyelectrolyte is a polyanion or polycation polymer. The second polyelectrolyte is a polyanion or polycation polymer of a charge opposite to that of the first polyelectrolyte polymer. At least one of the first solution or the second solution is an aggregate-forming solution comprising an ionic species having at least two discrete sites of a charge opposite to that of the polyelectrolyte polymer in the aggregate-forming solution. The ionic species forms, via bridging interactions, aggregates of the polyelectrolyte polymer that remain intact in the aggregate-forming solution during the contact and layer formation.

A method is provided for preparing an organic film on the surface of a solid support including the steps of (a) applying, to the surface, by transfer or by spraying, a solution containing at least one cleavable aryl salt; and (b) subjecting the solution to a UV or visible irradiation, such that irradiation radical entities are formed from the cleavable aryl salt and an organic film is grafted. Further provided is a kit of elements for the implementation of such a method.

An apparatus and method for protecting a target pump interior, where a target pump (10) inlet is provided with an inlet manifold (20) and a target pump outlet with an exhaust manifold (30). The target pump interior is exposed to sequential self-saturating surface reactions by sequential inlet of reactive gases according to an ALD method via the inlet manifold into the target pump interior and outlet of reaction residue via the exhaust manifold, while the target pump is kept running or not running. A technical effect of the invention is protecting a pump interior, which can be also an assembled pump interior, by a conformal protective coating.

A method of manufacturing an insulated conductive component having an electrically conductive element is provided. The method includes applying a first layer of a first material comprising a thermally conductive ceramic on a portion of the conductive element, and applying a second layer of a second material comprising a polymeric resin over the first layer. The method includes curing the conductive element to infuse the second material into the first material to define an electrically insulative, thermally conductive coating on the portion of the electrically conductive element.

Hybrid pre-patterns were prepared for directed self-assembly of a given block copolymer capable of forming a lamellar domain pattern. The hybrid pre-patterns have top surfaces comprising independent elevated surfaces interspersed with adjacent recessed surfaces. The elevated surfaces are neutral wetting to the domains formed by self-assembly. Material below the elevated surfaces has greater etch-resistance than material below the recessed surfaces in a given etch process. Following other dimensional constraints of the hybrid pre-pattern described herein, a layer of the given block copolymer was formed on the hybrid pre-pattern. Self-assembly of the layer produced a lamellar domain pattern comprising self-aligned, unidirectional, perpendicularly oriented lamellae over the elevated surfaces, and parallel and/or perpendicularly oriented lamellae over recessed surfaces. The domain patterns displayed long range order along the major axis of the pre-pattern. The lamellar domain patterns are useful in forming transfer patterns comprising two-dimensional customized features.

A perfluoropolyether thiol compound comprises a perfluoropolyether segment, at least one mercapto group (SH), and at least one intervening divalent carbonylimino moiety (C(O)NR, wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl). The compound can be produced, for example, by a ring-opening reaction of thiolactones with perfluoropolyether-substituted, primary or secondary amines. The compound can be used, for example, as a polymerization chain transfer agent, as an intermediate for the preparation of functional group-containing fluorochemical derivatives such as disulfides, and as a fluorinated surface treatment.

A nano-coating material, capable of being bonded to the surface of a metal or an alloy substrate, the nano-coating material includes a compound having, in a polymer main chain, (A) a first side chain or a terminal, each having a binding group containing a benzene ring having at least one pair of adjacent hydroxyl groups; and (B) a functional second side chain.

The present invention relates to a sponge type piezoelectric element and a method of manufacturing the same, and specifically, to a piezoelectric element that is provided in a sponge form and thus can implement all of compressibility, flexibility, and durability and diversely applied to a wearable piezoelectric element, a ferroelectric element, and a sensor.

A process of fabricating the waterproof coating may include selecting a substrate, utilizing a sol-gel comprising a silane or silane derivative and metal oxide precursor to coat the substrate, and optionally coating the substrate with a hydrophobic chemical agent and/or other chemical agents to create a surface with nanoscopic or microscopic features. The process may utilize an all solution process or controlled environment for fabricating self-cleaning and waterproof coating that prevent wetting or staining of a substrate, or may utilize a controlled environment.

A perfluoropolyether thiol compound comprises a perfluoropolyether segment, at least one mercapto group (SH), and at least one intervening divalent carbonylimino moiety (C(O)NR, wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl). The compound can be produced, for example, by a ring-opening reaction of thiolactones with perfluoropolyether-substituted, primary or secondary amines. The compound can be used, for example, as a polymerization chain transfer agent, as an intermediate for the preparation of functional group-containing fluorochemical derivatives such as disulfides, and as a fluorinated surface treatment.