The present invention relates to an article having a surface coated with a nanostructured temporary super-hydrophobic film having a static contact angle with water of at least 140°, and comprising nanoparticles functionalized with a hydrophobic agent, wherein the functionalization of the nanoparticles with the hydrophobic agent has been performed before said nanostructured temporary super-hydrophobic film is coated on said surface. The surface of the article exhibits a static contact angle with water of less than 60° before being coated with the nanostructured temporary super-hydrophobic film. The treatment according to the invention can be used to provide an antirain function to optical articles having a hydrophilic surface.

A substrate having a superhydrophobic surface and methods of manufacturing the same and uses thereof. The substrate comprises a frame of a first material of interconnected structures exhibiting cavities having the shape of inverted pyramids; and a second material comprising hydrophobic structures filling the cavities, wherein the sidewalls of the inverted pyramids form an angle α of 105°<α<135° against the surface. The hydrophobic structures, such as nanoparticles, provide excellent water repellency, whereas the structures formed by a mechanically durable substrate material, typically comprising microstructures, act as armor to resist abrasion. The substrates are robust, durable and abrasion resistant and can be used as surfaces in self-cleaning, anti-fouling or heat transfer materials as well as in transparent surfaces, in particular in solar cells.

A fluorine-containing alcohol composite comprising a condensate of a fluorine-containing alcohol represented by the general formula: HO-A-R.sub.F-A-OH [I] (wherein R.sub.F is a group containing a perfluoroalkylene group or a polyfluoroalkylene group having 6 or less carbon atoms and an ether bond, and A is an alkylene group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms), a hydroxyl group-containing polymer, and a zirconium compound. The fluorine-containing alcohol composite, using a fluorine-containing alcohol, does not produce perfluorooctanoic acid and the like when released into the environment and that has a unit easily decomposed into short chain compounds. And also, it exhibits hydrophilic oil repellency.

The present invention relates to a water-repellent film having frost resistance, including a hygroscopic layer provided on or above a substrate, and a water-repellent layer provided on or above the hygroscopic layer, in which the water-repellent layer contains a water-repellent layer substrate and a water-repellent component attached to the water-repellent layer substrate.

Disclosed herein is method for fabricating a graphene layer on a non-graphene carbon layer including steps of cleaning and seeding a substrate, depositing a crystalline diamond on the substrate, sputtering an aluminum layer on the crystalline diamond, where the aluminum layer is greater than 5 nanometers and less than 50 nanometers; and treating a surface of the aluminum layer with an ion beam resulting in a graphene layer on the crystalline diamond.

A compound represented by the following formula (1): ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1 is a monovalent organic group containing a polyether chain; X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 are each individually a monovalent group; and the polyether chain is a chain represented by the following formula: —(OC.sub.6F.sub.12).sub.m11—(OC.sub.5F.sub.10).sub.m12—(OC.sub.4F.sub.8).sub.m13—(OC.sub.3X.sup.10.sub.6).sub.m14—(OC.sub.2F.sub.4).sub.m15—(OCF.sub.2).sub.m16—, wherein m11, m12, m13, m14, m15, and m16 are each individually an integer of 0 or 1 or greater; X.sup.10s are each individually H, F, or Cl; the repeating units are present in any order; and the sum of m11 to m16 is an integer of 10 or greater, R.sup.1 being other than those containing a urethane bond.

Provided is an antireflective member that has a water- and oil-repellent layer on a multi-layered antireflective layer and is capable of exhibiting excellent surface lubricity, water- and oil-repellent properties, and durability. The surface of the multi-layered antireflective layer on a base material has a root-mean-square surface roughness of 0.8 nm to 2.0 nm. The water- and oil-repellent layer has a thickness of 1 to 30 nm and is a cured product of water- and oil-repellents having as principal components a fluorooxyalkylene group-containing polymer modified organosilicon compound with the numerical average molecular weight of 4,500 to 10,000 of a fluoropolymer part and/or partial hydrolysis condensate thereof.

A method for preparing an optically transparent, superomniphobic coating on a substrate, such as an optical substrate, is disclosed. The method includes providing a glass layer disposed on a substrate, the glass layer having a first side adjacent the substrate and an opposed second side, the glass layer comprising 45-85 wt. % silicon oxide in a first glass phase and 10-40 wt. % boron oxide in a second glass phase, such that a glass layer has a composition in a spinodal decomposition region. The method further includes heating the second side of the glass layer to form a phase-separated portion of the layer, the phase-separated portion comprising an interpenetrating network of silicon oxide domains and boron oxide domains, and removing at least a portion of the boron oxide domains from the phase-separated portion to provide a graded layer disposed on the substrate. The graded layer has a first side disposed adjacent the substrate, the first side comprising 45-85 wt. % silicon oxide and 10-40 wt. % boron oxide, and opposite the first side, a porous second side comprising at least 45 wt. % silicon oxide and no more than 5 wt. % boron oxide.

An anti-reflective film-attached transparent substrate includes a transparent substrate having two main surfaces and, on at least one of the main surfaces, a multilayer film in which at least two layers having different refractive indices are laminated. At least one silicon oxide layer among the layers in the multilayer film has a moisture permeability of 300 g/m.sup.2/day or less.

There are provided: a composition for forming a water repellent film that can form a water repellent film not only excellent in water repellency but also excellent in abrasion resistance, particularly in abrasion resistance evaluated under close-to-actual-use conditions where a light resistance test is combined; a water repellent film formed by using the composition for forming a water repellent film; a substrate with a water repellent film including the water repellent film provided on at least part of a substrate; and an article including the substrate with a water repellent film. The composition for forming a water repellent film contains, at a predetermined quantitative ratio of a hydrolyzable silane compound (1) having a perfluoroalkyl group and having no ether bond; and a compound (21) that has a poly(oxyfluoroalkylene) group and a plurality of hydrolyzable silyl groups with a specific structure and that has a number average molecular weight of 3000 or more.