The present disclosure provides methods for forming sol-gels, sol-gel films and substrates, such as vehicle components, having a sol-gel film disposed thereon. At least one method of forming a sol-gel includes mixing a metal alkoxide, an acid stabilizer, and an organic solvent to form a first mixture having about 10 wt % or less water content based on the total weight of the first mixture. The method includes mixing an organosilane with the first mixture to form a second mixture having about 10 wt % or less water content based on the total weight of the second mixture.

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.

Copper-boron-ferrite (Cu—B—Fe) composites may be prepared and immobilized on graphite electrodes in a silica-based sol-gel, e.g., from rice husks. Different bimetallic loading ratios can produce fast in-situ electrogeneration of reactive oxygen species, H.sub.2O.sub.2 and .OH, e.g., via droplet flow-assisted heterogeneous electro-Fenton reactor system. Loading ratios of, e.g., 10 to 30 wt. % Fe.sup.3+ and 5 to 15% wt. Cu.sup.2+, can improve the catalytic activities towards pharmaceutical beta blockers (atenolol and propranolol) degradation in water. Degradation efficiencies of at least 99.9% for both propranolol and atenolol in hospital wastewater were demonstrated. Radicals of .OH in degradation indicate a surface mechanism at inventive cathodes with correlated contributions of iron and copper. Copper and iron can be embedded in porous graphite electrode surface and catalyze the conversion of H.sub.2O.sub.2 to .OH to enhance the degradation. Inventive cathodes can be stable catalytically after 20 or more cycles under neutral and acidic conditions.

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.

The present disclosure provides methods for forming sol-gels, sol-gel films and substrates, such as vehicle components, having a sol-gel film disposed thereon. At least one method of forming a sol-gel includes mixing a metal alkoxide, an acid stabilizer, and an organic solvent to form a first mixture having about 10 wt % or less water content based on the total weight of the first mixture. The method includes mixing an organosilane with the first mixture to form a second mixture having about 10 wt % or less water content based on the total weight of the second mixture.

The present invention relates to different inorganic ceramic coatings whose chemical compositions comprise silicates, acids, metallic oxysalts such as tungstates and molybdates, water, and non-metallic oxides such as silicon oxide. Said water-based inorganic ceramic coatings improve the ceramic, anti-corrosive and resistance properties of the metal substrates that are coated with same. Likewise, the present invention relates to a sol-gel process for synthesizing said coatings in which the non-metallic oxide, before being mixed with the rest of the components of the chemical compositions as claimed, can be pre-treated with hydrochloric acid and ammonium hydroxide, or can be sonicated to achieve a particle size in the range from approximately 160 to approximately 180 nm. Finally, the present invention also relates to a method for coating the metal parts with the inorganic ceramic coatings as claimed in the present invention.

Novel coatings disclosed herein can be used to mitigate dust adhesion. In one embodiment, a method of making a dust repellant coating includes combining a titanium dioxide sol with colloidal silica to form a mixture. The method also includes adding solvent to the mixture, stirring the mixture for about an hour, and filtering the mixture into a solution of titanium dioxide and silica dioxide.

A sol composition for producing dielectric layers on a metallic substrate including 10 to 30%, by weight of the sol composition, of a precursor including a trialkoxysilane, 10 to 40%, by weight of the sol composition, of titanium dioxide particles whose median size is below 500 nm, 4.5 to 36%, by weight of the sol composition, of silica particles whose particle size distribution D90 is below 100 nm, 5 to 15%, by weight of the sol composition, of a solvent capable of making the precursor miscible in water, 0.1 to 2%, by weight of the sol composition, of an acidic catalyst, the remainder being water.

A turbine engine part coated in at least a first ceramic layer forming a thermal barrier and including a ceramic material with first ceramic fibers dispersed in the first layer. The first layer may have a chemical composition gradient between a material for forming a thermal barrier and a material for providing protection against calcium and magnesium aluminosilicates, which is present at a greater content in an outer zone of the first layer, and/or the first layer may be porous and may present a porosity gradient such that an outer portion of the first layer presents lower porosity.

This disclosure describes particles and techniques for storing oligonucleotides that provide stable, long-term protection yet are also compostable. A core is coated with a layer of oligonucleotides and encapsulated under an outer layer of non-porous, hydrolyzed organosilicon disulfide. The hydrolyzed organosilicon disulfide protects the oligonucleotides from oxidative and thermal damage under typical storage conditions. One suitable organosilicon disulfide is bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) disulfide (BTSPD). The oligonucleotides may be retrieved by contacting the particles with a reducing agent that degrades the disulfide bonds in the outer layer. The disulfide bonds enable removal of the protective encapsulation without the use of dangerous chemicals such as hydrogen fluoride. Instead of retrieving the oligonucleotides, the particles may be disposed of in a composting environment. In an implementation, the oligonucleotides are artificially synthesized and encode digital information.