A method for depositing particles onto a substrate, or a running substrate, including: (a) making a compact film of particles floating on a carrier liquid provided in a transfer area having an outlet of particles laid out facing the substrate; (b) depositing a substance on the compact film of particles, in the transfer area; (c) transferring, through the outlet of particles and onto the substrate, the compact film of particles coated with the substance; and then (d) removing the substance to carry away with the substance the particles of the film which adhere to the substance, to generate at least one recessed area within the film deposited on the substrate.

The field of the invention relates to systems and methods for surface treatments, and more particularly to systems and methods for surface treatments, modifications or coatings using micro- and nano-structure particles for both super-hydrophobic and super-oleophobic properties. In one embodiment, a method of treating surfaces to impart both super-hydrophobic and super-oleophobic properties includes the steps of pre-treating a substrate surface; assembling dual-scale nanoparticles onto the surface of the substrate; and treating the dual-scale nanoparticle coated surface with SiCl.sub.4 to cross-link the nanoparticles to each other and to the surface of the substrate creating a robust nano-structured topographic surface having both super-hydrophobic and super-oleophobic properties.

The present invention regards nano surfaces and particularly a gradient based nano surface. According to embodiments of the invention a surface bound gradient is created by distributed nanoparticles along a plane surface. This procedure greatly reduces the number of prepared surfaces needed, as well as the methodological error of analysis of adsorption and adhesion phenomena.

An apparatus and method for producing a coated analytic substrate using a compact and portable automated instrument located in the laboratory setting at the point of use which can consistently produce one or a plurality of coated analytic substrates on demand for using the analytic substrate immediately after coating, preferably without a step of rinsing the coated analytic substrate before use. The apparatus preferably uses applicator cartridges having a reservoir containing the coating compositions used to form the coatings. Preferably the cartridges are removable and interchangeable to facilitate the production of individual analytic substrates having different coatings or different coating patterns. These coated analytic substrates have superior specimen adhesion characteristics due to the improved quality of the coatings applied by the coating apparatus and due to the quickness with which the coated analytic substrates can be used in the lab after production.

An apparatus and method for producing a coated analytic substrate using a compact and portable automated instrument located in the laboratory setting at the point of use which can consistently produce one or a plurality of coated analytic substrates on demand for using the analytic substrate immediately after coating, preferably without a step of rinsing the coated analytic substrate before use. The apparatus preferably uses applicator cartridges having a reservoir containing the coating compositions used to form the coatings. Preferably the cartridges are removable and interchangeable to facilitate the production of individual analytic substrates having different coatings or different coating patterns. These coated analytic substrates have superior specimen adhesion characteristics due to the improved quality of the coatings applied by the coating apparatus and due to the quickness with which the coated analytic substrates can be used in the lab after production.

Method for pore sealing a porous substrate, comprising: forming a continuous monolayer of a polyimide precursor on a liquid surface, transferring said polyimide precursor monolayer onto the porous substrate with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, and imidization of the transferred polyimide precursor monolayers, thereby forming a polyimide sealing layer on the porous substrate. Porous substrate having at least one surface on which a sealing layer is provided to seal pores of the substrate, wherein the sealing layer is a polyimide having a thickness of a few monolayers and wherein there is no penetration of the polyimide into the pores.

Method for pore sealing a porous substrate, comprising: forming a continuous monolayer of a polyimide precursor on a liquid surface, transferring said polyimide precursor monolayer onto the porous substrate with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, and imidization of the transferred polyimide precursor monolayers, thereby forming a polyimide sealing layer on the porous substrate. Porous substrate having at least one surface on which a sealing layer is provided to seal pores of the substrate, wherein the sealing layer is a polyimide having a thickness of a few monolayers and wherein there is no penetration of the polyimide into the pores.

To provide a fluorinated ether compound, a fluorinated ether composition and a coating liquid, whereby it is possible to form a surface-treated layer which has high initial water/oil repellency and which is excellent in abrasion resistance and fingerprint stain removability, and a substrate having a surface-treated layer and a method for its production. A fluorinated ether compound which has a poly(oxyperfluoroalkylene) chain (().sub.n) made of at least two units () linked to one another, and which has a hydrolysable silyl group on at least one terminal of the chain (().sub.n) via a linking group, wherein each unit () is a poly(oxyperfluoroalkylene) group comprising one to three groups () made of at least one type of a C.sub.1-2 oxyperfluoroalkylene group and one to three groups () made of at least one type of a C.sub.3-6 oxyperfluoroalkylene group.

A method for depositing a film on a substrate, which includes the steps of forming a film using a liquid composition that includes a neutral surfactant and a charged lamellar compound, placing the film in contact with the substrate and depositing the film on substrate. Also, a process for analyzing a substrate onto which a film has been deposited by the method.

A method is disclosed of three-dimensional (3D) free-form printing for coating free-form objects, the method including: arranging a free-form object in a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) trough filed with a liquid, the LB trough designed based on a shape of the free-form object; arranging an LB film comprising a plurality of colloidal nanospheres on a surface of the liquid within the LB trough; and draining the liquid from the LB trough to form a self-assemble film of the colloidal nanoparticles on a surface of the free-form object.