Aqueous solutions of halogenides (oxyhalides) of zirconium and hafnium (M) with values of α=X/M near one, for X=Cl, Br and I form amorphous solids or glasses, designated as M,X, in contrast to important crystalline oxyhalide end members with α=2 (designated as MOX). The present disclosure describes methods for producing amorphous thin films comprising halogenides upon evaporation, and provides some measured physical properties, with attention to compositions for α<2. The value of a below which only glasses are formed is about one for oxychlorides and oxybromides of both Zr and Hf. The chemical formulas for all the halogenide thin films prepared as noted above can be written as a function of the single parameter α, according to M(OH).sub.4-αX.sub.α.(4α-1)H.sub.2O. This is valid for e.g., crystalline zirconium oxychloride octahydrate, and for the glassy solids found for α<2 and down to the onset of hydrolysis, α≈0.5. Thin films made by the disclosed methods are highly dense (90% of theoretical crystal density), extremely smooth (rms<0.4 nm), and highly transparent in the visible spectrum, >90%. Such thin films are useful as alkali diffusion barriers.

A method for manufacturing a coated metal powder includes: preparing a silanol solution in which a silicon-containing substance is dissolved in an alkaline aqueous solution; charging a metal powder into the silanol solution to obtain a dispersion; and forming a coating containing a silicon oxide on a particle surface of the metal powder by adding an acidic aqueous solution to the dispersion.

A methods and systems are disclosed for coating a large oven cavity. A method of coating an oven includes spraying a coating at room temperature onto a plurality of surfaces in the oven cavity in one or more layers and manipulating the oven to position the plurality of surfaces while spraying in various embodiments. An article includes an oven having a cavity, where the cavity has a surface with a volume of about 3 ft.sup.3 to about 7 ft.sup.3, and a coating on the surface of the cavity, the coating including a sol-gel ceramic.

A method of colorizing stainless steel strip involves the continuous surface treatment of stainless steel strip with aqueous suspensions of rare earth oxide nano or micro particles or aqueous rare earth nitrate solutions of nano or micro particles. The surface treatment can be applied by roll coating, spraying or other conventional application techniques. The coated strip is then continuously annealed. The surface treatment can provide a variety of colors. It also improves corrosion resistance of the processed stainless steel strip. Steel strip treated in this manner is suitable for a variety of applications in the building systems, automotive and appliance markets.

The present application provides an anti-corrosion super-slippery aluminum capillary tube and method and device for preparing the same. The preparation starts with the etching and drying of the inner walls of an aluminum capillary tube, which leads to the formation of an alumina capillary structure surface with micro-nano scale roughness. Next, the alumina capillary structure surface is modified to form a low surface energy modifying layer. Finally, the modified alumina capillary structure surface is wetted by a prewetting solution, so that a continuous film of the prewetting solution is formed on the inner wall of the aluminum capillary tube to function as a lubricating layer. The lubrication layer, on one hand, reduces the flow resistance for convey of liquid media, on the other hand, prevents the conveyed liquids from directly contacting the aluminum capillary tube body, thereby avoiding the corrosion of the aluminum capillary tube by corrosive liquids.

A support member for a thermal processing chamber is described. The support member has a sol coating on at least one surface. The sol coating contains a material that blocks a desired wavelength or spectrum of radiation from being transmitted by the material of the support member. The sol coating may be a multi-layer structure that may include adhesion layers, transition layers, and cap layers, in addition to radiation-blocking layers.

A method for improving the heat resistance of a resistive element embedded in an alumina deposit covering a surface of a substrate, in which the alumina deposit includes a surface portion and a deep portion which is sandwiched between the surface portion and the surface of the substrate and in which the resistive element is located, is provided. The method includes a densification of the surface portion of the alumina deposit.

A method of manufacturing a ferroelectric element includes forming an insulating film on one side of a metal substrate by an electron beam (EB) vapor deposition method or a sputtering method; forming a metal film on the insulating film by the sputtering method; and forming a ferroelectric film on the metal film by a sol-gel method. The metal substrate includes iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni), and a content of the nickel (Ni) is greater than or equal to 30% and less than or equal to 40%.

A copper foil, intended for use as a current collector in a lithium-containing electrode for a lithium-based electrochemical cell, is subjected to a series of chemical oxidation and reduction processing steps to form a field of integral copper wires extending outwardly from the surfaces of the current collector (and from the copper content of the foil) to be coated with a resin-bonded porous layer of particles of active electrode material. The copper wires serve to anchor thicker layers of porous electrode material and enhance liquid electrolyte contact with the electrode particles and the current collector to improve the energy output of the cell and its useful life.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a sensor device for sensing a fluorine-based gas, the device comprising: a substrate; and a sensing layer on the substrate, wherein the sensing layer includes hydrogenated titanium dioxide nano-particles, wherein when the sensing layer reacts with the fluorine-based gas, the sending layer has a color change.