According to the present invention, an ultra-fast method for preparing an organic/inorganic thin film by using self-diffusion effects comprises the steps of: forming a solution by dissolving one or more organic/inorganic materials in a solvent; forming an organic/inorganic thin film by supplying the formed solution onto a liquid substrate; and transferring the formed thin film to a substrate, wherein the step of forming an organic/inorganic thin film forms a thin film on the liquid substrate from the organic/inorganic materials through the occurrence of a self-diffusion phenomenon caused by a difference in surface tension between the liquid substrate and the solution, and through the occurrence of the evaporation of the solvent and the dissolution process of the solvent to the liquid substrate.

A process for depositing a compact film of particles on an internal surface of a part, including: a) placing the part in a carrier liquid; b) generating a carrier liquid stream in a hollow of the part towards a surface of the carrier liquid, to create a protuberance; c) dispensing the particles to form a compact film floating on the liquid between a contact line and an upstream front of particles; and d) transferring the film onto the internal surface by operating a relative displacement between the part and the surface of the carrier liquid, while continuing dispensing the particles on the upstream front.

An installation for forming a compact film of particles on a surface of a carrier fluid, including a zone acting as a reservoir of carrier fluid, an inclined ramp, a particle storage and transfer zone, a mechanism moving the carrier fluid, a mechanism for dispensing the particles in solution, configured to dispense the particles on the surface of the carrier fluid in the zone acting as a reservoir, and a structure for deflecting the particles configured to favor, along a transverse direction of the installation, spreading of the particles at the outlet of the zone acting as a reservoir. The structure for deflecting particles is permeable to the carrier fluid.

The invention concerns a method for producing a chromatography-enrichment column, the method comprising the following steps: (a) depositing at least one layer of desired particles, which may be identical or different, and are intended to constitute the stationary phase, in a compact assembly, on the flat surface of a substrate; (b) crosslinking the layer in at least the regions corresponding to the desired shape of the enrichment column to be obtained; (c) impregnating the layer with a light radiation-sensitive material; (d) insolating the layer obtained in step (c) so as to form insolated regions of which the shape corresponds to the desired internal shape of the enrichment column, if the light radiation-sensitive material behaves like a positive resin or to form non-insolated regions of which the shape corresponds to the desired internal shape of the enrichment column if the light radiation-sensitive material behaves like negative resin; and (e) eliminating the light radiation-sensitive material in the zones corresponding to the internal shape of the enrichment column. The invention is used in particular in the field of chemical analysis.

This invention relates to method and system for forming a film. The method including providing a trough containing water defining an air-water interface between air and the water; providing a solution containing a material of interest; and electrospraying the solution onto the air-water interface of water to form a film of the material of interest at the air-water interface. The system includes a trough containing water defining an air-water interface between air and the water; and means for spreading a solution containing a material of interest onto the air-water interface of water by electrospray, to form a film of the material of interest at the air-water interface. The spreading means comprises an electrospraying device.

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.

This invention relates to method and system for forming a film. The method including providing a trough containing water defining an air-water interface between air and the water; providing a solution containing a material of interest; and electrospraying the solution onto the air-water interface of water to form a film of the material of interest at the air-water interface. The system includes a trough containing water defining an air-water interface between air and the water; and means for spreading a solution containing a material of interest onto the air-water interface of water by electrospray, to form a film of the material of interest at the air-water interface. The spreading means comprises an electrospraying device.

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.