The present invention is directed to a coated substrate including a substrate that is part of an aerospace, a wind turbine, or a marine structure; and an exterior coating on the substrate, the exterior coating including an icephobic or a low ice adhesion composition including an indicator that is an additive that is detectable or measurable as the exterior coating wears; wherein the indicator provides indicia of wear of the exterior coating; and a method of inspecting the exterior coating on the substrate.

The present application discloses methods for preparing superhydrophobic nano-microscale patterned films, films pre-pared from such methods and uses of such films as superhydrophobic coatings. The superhydrophobic nano- microscale patterned films comprise high aspect ratio nanoparticles such as boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and/or carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

A method of fabricating a hydrophobic coating on a surface of a solid substrate which includes a layer-integrable material includes the steps of depositing a deformable layer of the layer-integrable material onto the surface of the solid substrate, forcibly embedding a plurality of particles within the deformable layer, and solidifying the deformable layer including the plurality of particles so as to be integral with the surface of the solid substrate. At least a portion of the plurality of particles is embedded at a threshold depth within the deformable layer prior to solidification.

Composite anti-fouling coatings and associated systems and methods are generally described. In some aspects, a system comprises a substrate, a composite coating disposed on at least a portion of the substrate, and a fluid comprising one or more foulants, where the composite coating is configured to be in physical contact with the fluid during use. The composite coating may comprise a first region comprising a first material and a second region comprising a second material that is different from the first material. According to some embodiments, a full- spectral Hamaker constant associated with the composite coating and the fluid (i.e., based on average optical properties of the first and second materials of the composite coating) is relatively low, and the van der Waals (vdW) force between the composite coating and the one or more foulants is, therefore, correspondingly low. Under some conditions (e.g., high temperature and/or high pressure conditions), intermolecular interactions between the composite coating and the one or more foulants may be dominated by the vdW force, and a relatively low vdW force may reduce the likelihood of the one or more foulants adhering to and/or otherwise being deposited on the composite coating. By selecting materials for the composite coating that result in a relatively low full- spectral Hamaker constant, fouling of the composite coating may thus be reduced or even eliminated. In some cases, two or more materials with optical properties (e.g., refractive indices, frequency-dependent dielectric response values) that, when averaged, are substantially similar to those of the fluid across a spectrum of frequencies or wavelengths may advantageously be associated with a relatively low full- spectral Hamaker constant.

An anti-corrosive coating for a substrate surface comprises an insulation layer positioned over the substrate and a cured epoxy layer positioned on the insulation layer, the cured epoxy layer including a plurality of nanoparticles having diameters within a range of about 200 nm to about 350 nm. Water droplets positioned on an external surface of the cured epoxy layer form a contact angle of at least 130 degrees.

A superhydrophobic coating having a three-dimensional porous nanocomposite structure, includes: a constructing unit and a bonding unit; the constructing unit comprises inorganic hydrophobic nanoparticles, the bonding unit comprises hydrophobic polymer nanomicrospheres, and the inorganic hydrophobic nanoparticles and the hydrophobic polymer nanomicrospheres are interconnected to form uniform pores. A method for preparation of the superhydrophobic coating includes: mixing the inorganic hydrophobic nanoparticles with the hydrophobic polymer nanomicrospheres in a dispersant to form a coating solution; and coating the coating solution on the surface of a substrate using a dip coating, roll coating or spray coating process, and drying to form the superhydrophobic coating of a three-dimensional porous nanocomposite structure.

The invention is related to a cost-effective method for making a silicone hydrogel contact lens having a crosslinked hydrophilic coating thereon. A method of the invention involves heating a silicone hydrogel contact lens in an aqueous solution in the presence of a watersoluble, highly branched, thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material having positively-charged azetidinium groups, to and at a temperature from about 40° C. to about 140° C. for a period of time sufficient to covalently attach the thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material onto the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens through covalent linkages each formed between one azetidinium group and one of the reactive functional groups on and/or near the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens, thereby forming a crosslinked hydrophilic coating on the silicone hydrogel contact lens. Such method can be advantageously implemented directly in a sealed lens package during autoclave.

The present disclosure provides a method for forming a barrier coating on a surface of a substrate. The method includes applying a barrier coating forming solution to the substrate, allowing the applied barrier coating forming solution to partially cure, applying an antimicrobial coating forming solution atop the partially cured barrier coating forming solution, and allowing the two applied coatings to fully cure or dry to produce a multifunctional surface coating. The barrier coating forming solution includes at least one performance component other an antimicrobial component, and the antimicrobial coating forming solution includes an antimicrobial component. A formed multifunctional surface coating produced according to the method positions the antimicrobial component at a concentrated amount at or near the surface of the formed multifunctional coating.

An optical element, which is transparent, for a motor vehicle, including at least one transparent first layer containing a polymer material and at least one second layer including at least silicon, titanium and oxygen. The optical element has a surface roughness defined by a mean square deviation Rq greater than or equal to 20 nm.

Disclosed are a superhydrophobic coating with abrasion resistance and a preparation method thereof. The coating has a composite structure formed by a nanohybrid composed of nano-SiO.sub.2 and multi-wallet carbon nanotubes, and a resin as a matrix.