The disclosure is directed at a large-area monolayer of solvent dispersed nanomaterials and method of producing same. The method of the disclosure includes dripping a nanomaterial solvent into a container filled with water whereby the nanomaterial being dripped collects at the air-water interface to produce the large-area monolayer. In one embodiment, different nanomaterial solvents can be dripped, at predetermined intervals such that the resulting large-area monolayer includes at least two different nanomaterials.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an electrolyte system for prolonging the life of lithium metal anode-based secondary batteries while maintaining the energy density of the batteries. The ultimate aim of the present invention is to use lithium metal in combination with cathodes, such as transition metal oxide, sulfur, and air electrodes, that are currently used in lithium ion batteries for future unmanned electric vehicles and grid energy storage systems as well as in lithium metal secondary batteries with high energy density. The use of lithium metal is also expected to contribute to the development of newly emerging unmanned aircrafts such as drones. The present invention is expected to be globally competitive in the secondary battery and electrochemical capacitor industries. Research on the safety of high density energy materials, particularly when handled, is attracting a great deal of researchers' attention because high energy density is achieved at the sacrifice of safety in the commercialization of products. Due to the social and technological criticism associated with the recent explosion of smartphones, it is particularly necessary to ensure safety of batteries with high energy density. Particularly, next-generation batteries have energy densities at least substantially two times to a maximum of eight times higher than existing lithium ion batteries. For this reason, next-generation batteries and systems using next-generation batteries should be necessarily investigated and verified for safety. Therefore, the present invention provides a method for forming a Mxene thin film as a stable SEI film that can stabilize a lithium metal anode of a lithium metal secondary battery that may catch fire or explode and can suppress the formation and diffusion of lithium dendrites to prevent the occurrence of an internal short circuit.

In an example, a method including dispensing a liquid onto a first portion of a surface of a substrate and dispensing a solution comprising colloidal spheres onto a second portion of the surface of the substrate. The method additionally includes agitating the colloidal spheres to disperse the colloidal spheres along the first portion and the second portion of the surface of the substrate and directing air flow above the colloidal spheres inducing rotation of the colloidal spheres. In another example, a method includes positioning a retaining ring on a surface of a liquid above a substrate below the surface of the liquid and dispensing a solution comprising colloidal spheres onto the surface of the liquid within a surface area of the retaining ring. The method further includes agitating the surface of the liquid and the colloidal spheres to disperse the colloidal spheres along the surface area of the retaining ring.

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.

The present disclosure is directed to methods for preparing nanoparticle monolayers on a sub-phase by controlling the spreading rate of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are first prepared in a nanoparticle solution at a predetermined concentration with a solvent. The sub-phase solution is prepared to have a density and viscosity compatible with the desired spreading rate. Additives, such as glycerol, are used to alter the density of the sub-phase solution. A volume of nanoparticle solution is deposited on the surface of the sub-phase solution and allowed to spread in a controlled manner on the unconstrained surface, forming a uniform nanoparticle monolayer. A substrate is then placed in contact with the nanoparticle monolayer to form a uniform nanoparticle coating on the surface of the substrate.

A device for coating semiconductor/semiconductor precursor particles on a flexible substrate and a preparation method of a semiconducting thin film, wherein the device includes: a container for a first and second solvent substantially immiscible; injection means for injecting a predetermined dispersion volume of at least one layered semiconductor particle material or its precursor(s), occurring at a liquid-liquid interface formed within the container and between the first and second solvent, and creating a particle film at the liquid-liquid interface; a first support means; substrate extracting means; substrate supply means; compression means, reducing a distance between particles and push the film onto the substrate, wherein the compression means includes several pushing means mounted on a drive device, wherein at least two of the several pushing means are at least partially submerged in the second solvent during drive device rotation, and moved through the second solvent toward the first support means.

This invention generally relates to a method for preparing and transferring a monolayer or thin film. In particular this present invention is an improved version of the Langmuir-Schaefer technique for preparing and transferring a monolayer or thin film, incorporating in situ thermal control of the substrate during the transfer process.

This invention generally relates to a device for preparing and transferring a monolayer or thin film. In particular this present invention is a device for preparing and transferring a monolayer or thin film to a substrate using an improved version of the Langmuir-Schaefer technique, which incorporates in situ thermal control, for instance to heat the supporting substrate before and/or during the transfer process.

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.

This invention discloses a method for controlling nanoscopic wetting near or at a molecular scale for synthetic material applications. In particular this invention relates to a method for preparing a monolayer or thin film with a patterned nanoscopic wetting surface using a sitting phase of polymerizable amphiphile, wherein hydrophobic alkyl chains of the amphiphile extend along the supporting surface and the amphiphile molecules align side-to-side, effectively forming a repeating cross-section of bilayer with alternating hydrophilic and hydrophobic stripes of a 6 nm pitch tunable based on the chain length of the amphiphile. Products prepared according to the methods disclosed herein are within the scope of this invention. In some embodiments, monolayers or thin films so prepared are transferable.