Methods for forming and controlling morphology cracks in silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) film comprising: preparing SiO.sub.2precursor solution comprising solvent, precursor of SiO.sub.2, precursor of metal oxide nanocrystals, water, and acid; coating the solution onto substrate; drying the solution atop the substrate at a temperature between about 20° C. to 100° C. between 1 minute to 24 hours to form SiO.sub.2 film having uniformly dispersed metal oxide nanocrystals, wherein shorter drying times yield substantially spherical shaped metal oxide nanocrystals and longer drying times yield rod and disc shaped metal oxide nanocrystals; and thermally treating the SiO.sub.2 film between about 60° C. to 500° C. between 1 minute to 24 hours to form cracked mesh SiO.sub.2 film, wherein two cracks initiate from rod shaped metal oxide nanocrystals, three to four cracks initiate from spherical shaped metal oxide nanocrystals, and four or more cracks initiate from disc shaped metal oxide nanocrystals. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Aspects described herein generally relate to a method of coating a metallic surface. The method includes forming a solution including a corrosion inhibitor having one or more thiol moieties and a hydroxide. The metallic surface is coated with the solution to form a treated metallic surface. The treated metallic surface is further coated with an organosilane, an acid, and a metal alkoxide to form a coating system.

A method includes steps of forming an inner coating on an object and forming an outer coating in contact with the inner coating. A first solution including metal oxide nanoparticles and a first solvent is applied onto the object. The first solvent is removed to form the inner coating with the metal oxide nanoparticles. A second solution having silicon dioxide nanoparticles and a second solvent is applied onto the object. The second solvent is removed to form the outer coating with the silicon dioxide nanoparticles. The interfacial binding force between the metal oxide nanoparticles and the silicon dioxide nanoparticles is then strengthened, for example, by applying a third solution such as water, ethanol or a mixture thereof to the inner coating and the outer coating.

Provided is an electrically heated catalytic converter including at least a conductive substrate and an electrode member that is fixed to the substrate, in which a protective film is formed on a surface of at least a portion of the electrode member. In the electrically heated catalytic converter, at least a portion of the protective film is formed of Al.sub.2O.sub.3, SiO.sub.2, a composite material of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and SiO.sub.2, or a composite oxide including Al.sub.2O.sub.3, SiO.sub.2, or a composite material of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and SiO.sub.2 as a major component, the protective film has an amorphous structure or a partially crystalline glass structure having a crystallization rate of 30 vol % or lower with respect to the entire portion of the protective film, and a thickness of the protective film is in a range of 100 nm to 2 μm.

The present invention, relates, to a process, for producing structured coatings, in which a coating composition comprising at least one inorganic binder, at least one oxide pigment which, after addition of a mixture consisting of 15 ml of 1 M oxalic acid and 15 ml of 20% aqueous hydrochloric acid based on 1 g of substance, under standard conditions, leads to a temperature rise of at least 4° C., and at least one solvent is applied to a substrate, the resulting coating composition film is partially coated with a photoresist and the substrate coated with the coating composition and the photoresist is treated with an acid, to the structured layers obtainable by the process and to the use thereof.

The present invention relates to an alkaline aqueous composition on the basis of water glass and organosilanes with non-hydrolysable substituents which have a primary amino group in the substituents, for providing corrosion-protected coatings on metal surfaces which convey good reshaping properties in metal processing. For the desired functionality, the compositions according to the invention contain the organosilane and the water glass in a predetermined ration. The invention further relates to a method for pre-treating metal surfaces using the alkaline aqueous compositions, which method provides excellent results with regard to corrosion protection, varnish adhesion and reshapability, particularly on aluminum and on steel strips provided with aluminum alloy metal coatings.

An inorganic polysilazane resin of the present invention has a Si/N ratio (i.e. a ratio of contained silicon atoms to contained nitrogen atoms) of 1.30 or more. The inorganic polysilazane resin having such a high Si content can be produced by, for example, a method in which an inorganic polysilazane compound containing both Si—NH and Si—Cl is heated to react NH with Cl, a method in which a silazane oligomer (polymer) that leaves no Si—Cl bond is synthesized and a dihalosilane is added to the synthesized silazane oligomer (polymer) to perform a thermal reaction, and the like. A siliceous film can be formed by, for example, applying a coating composition containing the inorganic polysilazane resin onto a base plate and then dried and the dried product is then oxidized by bringing the dried product into contact with water vapor or hydrogen peroxide vapor and water vapor under heated conditions.

A coating process comprising applying to a surface a coating composition consisting essentially of an alkali metal silicate and an aqueous liquid phase having dispersed therein solid aluminum particles to form on the surface a wet coating; and drying said wet coating: under conditions which convert said wet coating to an electrically conductive, corrosion-resistant, solid coating; or under conditions which form a solid coating which is not electrically conductive (non-conductive) and thereafter treating said non-conductive coating under conditions which convert said non-conductive coating to an electrically conductive, corrosion-resistant coating.

A multilayer structure including a substrate and a first stack of a layer of SiO.sub.2 and a layer of material of the SiO.sub.xN.sub.yH.sub.z type positioned between the substrate and the layer of SiO.sub.2, in which the layer of SiO.sub.2 and the layer of material of the SiO.sub.xN.sub.yH.sub.z type have thicknesses (e.sub.B, e.sub.A) such that the thickness of the layer of SiO.sub.2 is less than or equal to 60 nm, the thickness of the layer of material of the SiO.sub.xN.sub.yH.sub.z type (e.sub.B) is more than twice the thickness (e.sub.A) of the layer of SiO.sub.2, and the sum of the thicknesses of the layer of SiO.sub.2 and of the layer of material of the SiO.sub.xN.sub.yH.sub.z type is between 100 nm and 500 nm, and in which z is strictly less than the ratio (x+y)/5, and advantageously z is strictly less than the ratio (x+y)/10.

A method of forming a cured film on an aluminum substrate includes depositing a film formed from a sol-gel coating composition onto the aluminum substrate without disposing a conversion coating composition onto the aluminum substrate. The method also includes, after depositing, curing the film. A coating system includes an aluminum substrate having a surface and a cured film disposed on and in contact with the surface. The cured film is formed from a sol-gel coating composition. The coating system is free from a layer formed from a conversion coating composition.