Certain example embodiments relate to a coated article including a coating formed from a sol that has hydrophobic surface properties. The sol may include a mixture of at least two alkylsiloxane chemicals, with the sol potentially being aged for a certain comparatively short amount of time before being wet-applied to a major substrate surface. The application process may also undergo a certain comparatively short curing process to help provide hydrophobic surface properties. The hydrophobic surface properties help provide anti-soiling functions that are advantageous in a variety of applications including, for example, solar mirror applications.

A wire grid polarizer (WGP) can have a conformal-coating to protect the WGP from at least one of the following: corrosion, dust, and damage due to tensile forces in a liquid on the WGP. The conformal-coating can include a silane conformal-coating with chemical formula (1), chemical formula (2), or combinations thereof: ##STR00001##
A method of applying a conformal-coating over a WGP can include exposing the WGP to Si(R.sup.1).sub.d(R.sup.2).sub.e(R.sup.3).sub.g. In the above WGP and method, X can be a bond to the ribs; each R.sup.1 can be a hydrophobic group; each R.sup.3, if any, can be any chemical element or group; d can be 1, 2, or 3, e can be 1, 2, or 3, g can be 0, 1, or 2, and d+e+g=4; R.sup.2 can be a silane-reactive-group; and each R.sup.6 can be an alkyl group, an aryl group, or combinations thereof.

A wire grid polarizer (WGP) can have a conformal-coating to protect the WGP from at least one of the following: corrosion, dust, and damage due to tensile forces in a liquid on the WGP. The conformal-coating can include a silane conformal-coating with chemical formula (1), chemical formula (2), or combinations thereof: ##STR00001##
A method of applying a conformal-coating over a WGP can include exposing the WGP to Si(R.sup.1).sub.d(R.sup.2).sub.e(R.sup.3).sub.g. In the above WGP and method, X can be a bond to the ribs; each R.sup.1 can be a hydrophobic group; each R.sup.3, if any, can be any chemical element or group; d can be 1, 2, or 3, e can be 1, 2, or 3, g can be 0, 1, or 2, and d+e+g=4; R.sup.2 can be a silane-reactive-group; and each R.sup.6 can be an alkyl group, an aryl group, or combinations thereof.

The organic-inorganic composite of the present invention includes an organic compound having a carbonyl group, an inorganic compound containing a metal component, and a silver component. The ratio of the number of metal atoms in the inorganic compound to the number of carbon atoms in the organic compound is from 0.04 to 1.60, and the ratio of the number of silver atoms in the silver component to the number of carbon atoms in the organic compound is from 0.07 to 0.55. The organic-inorganic composite may include, for example, an inorganic compound having a metal matrix structure containing a metal M and oxygen, an organic compound having a carbonyl group, and silver ions. The carbonyl group is bonded to a side chain R.sup.1 of the organic compound and has an end group R.sup.2.

The organic-inorganic composite of the present invention includes an organic compound having a carbonyl group, an inorganic compound containing a metal component, and a silver component. The ratio of the number of metal atoms in the inorganic compound to the number of carbon atoms in the organic compound is from 0.04 to 1.60, and the ratio of the number of silver atoms in the silver component to the number of carbon atoms in the organic compound is from 0.07 to 0.55. The organic-inorganic composite may include, for example, an inorganic compound having a metal matrix structure containing a metal M and oxygen, an organic compound having a carbonyl group, and silver ions. The carbonyl group is bonded to a side chain R.sup.1 of the organic compound and has an end group R.sup.2.

The organic-inorganic composite of the present invention includes an organic compound having a carbonyl group, an inorganic compound containing a metal component, and a silver component. The ratio of the number of metal atoms in the inorganic compound to the number of carbon atoms in the organic compound is from 0.04 to 1.60, and the ratio of the number of silver atoms in the silver component to the number of carbon atoms in the organic compound is from 0.07 to 0.55. The organic-inorganic composite may include, for example, an inorganic compound having a metal matrix structure containing a metal M and oxygen, an organic compound having a carbonyl group, and silver ions. The carbonyl group is bonded to a side chain R.sup.1 of the organic compound and has an end group R.sup.2.

This water-repellent, oil-repellent member is obtained via a method comprising: a step for wet-coating a substrate surface with a solution containing an organic silicon compound comprising multiple silanol groups and a solvent; a step for drying the solvent to form a primer layer; a step for wet-coating the primer layer with a solution containing a fluorine-containing compound and a solvent, followed by drying the solvent, or dry-coating with the fluorine-containing compound obtained by evaporating the solvent from the solution; and a step for curing the fluorine-containing compound to form a water-repellent, oil-repellent layer. The water-repellent, oil-repellent member is obtained by providing, on various substrates, a primer layer of a specific thickness containing, as a main component, an organic silicon compound comprising multiple silanol groups, followed by providing, on the primer layer, a water-repellent, oil-repellent layer of a specific thickness containing, as a main component, the cured fluorine-containing compound according to the above mentioned method. It is thus possible to stably and simply form a water-repellent, oil-repellent coating exhibiting superior abrasion resistance on various substrates, and the primer layer and water-repellent, oil-repellent layer can be applied using a room-temperature (25 C.) process.

Electrically insulating Al.sub.2O.sub.3SiO.sub.2 thin coatings have been deposited on long-length 316 stainless steel (SS) tape using a reel-to-reel continuous sol-gel dip coating process for co-winding insulation into YBCO pancake coils, a high temperature superconductor magnet technology. Coatings with a thickness of 2 m are achieved after just one dip with a tape withdrawal speed of 16 mm/s (1 m/min) and a calcination at 700 C. The coatings were measured to have a room-temperature breakdown voltage of about 100 V, corresponding to a dc dielectric strength of about 50 MV/m. Consequently, this process has low cost and high throughput and produces a thin electrical insulation with excellent thermal, dielectric, and mechanical properties. A new technique has been developed in the coating process to mitigate coating buildup near the edges of the tape.

A composition for forming a silica based layer and a method for manufacturing a silica based layer, the composition including a silicon-containing compound, the silicon-containing compound including a hydrogenated polysilazane moiety, a hydrogenated polysiloxazane moiety, or a combination thereof, and a solvent, wherein a number of particles of the silicon-containing compound in the composition and having a particle diameter of about 0.2 m to about 1 m is less than or equal to about 10/ml.

A composition for forming a silica based layer and a method for manufacturing a silica based layer, the composition including a silicon-containing compound, the silicon-containing compound including a hydrogenated polysilazane moiety, a hydrogenated polysiloxazane moiety, or a combination thereof, and a solvent, wherein a number of particles of the silicon-containing compound in the composition and having a particle diameter of about 0.2 m to about 1 m is less than or equal to about 10/ml.