The invention relates to a method of making hybrid organic-inorganic core-shell nano-particles, comprising the steps of a) providing colloidal organic particles comprising a synthetic polyampholyte as a template; b) adding at least one inorganic oxide precursor; and c) forming a shell layer from the precursor on the template to result in core-shell nano-particles. With this method it is possible to make colloidal organic template particles having an average particle size in the range of 10 to 300 nm; which size can be controlled by the comonomer composition of the polyampholyte, and/or by selecting dispersion conditions.

The invention also relates to organic-inorganic or hollow-inorganic core-shell nano-particles obtained with this method, to compositions comprising such nano-particles, to different uses of said nano-particles and compositions, and to products comprising or made from said nano-particles and compositions, including anti-reflective coatings and composite materials.

A method for preparing thin double-structured composite corrosion resistant and/or passivating coatings that consist of a thin metal oxide-hydroxide subcoating prepared by anodizing the metal substrate materials near-surface part and then provided with an atomic layer deposition (ALD) topmost nanocoating, of e.g. oxide, nitride, carbonate, carbide etc. or their mixes or laminates, or laminates with ceramic and metallic layers, or laminates with inorganic or organic polymers and ceramic layers.

Virus multilayers can be used as templates for growth of inorganic nanomaterials. For example, layer-by-layer construction of virus multilayers on functionalized surfaces form nanoporous structures onto which metal particles or metal oxide nanoparticles can be nucleated to result in an interconnected network of nanowires.

A method of pressure forming a brown part from metal and/or ceramic particle feedstocks includes: introducing into a mold cavity or extruder a first feedstock and one or more additional feedstocks or a green or brown state insert made from a feedstock, wherein the different feedstocks correspond to the different portions of the part; pressurizing the mold cavity or extruder to produce a preform having a plurality of portions corresponding to the first and one or more additional feedstocks, and debinding the preform. Micro voids and interstitial paths from the interior of the preform part to the exterior allow the escape of decomposing or subliming backbone component substantially without creating macro voids due to internal pressure. The large brown preform may then be sintered and subsequently thermomechanically processed to produce a net wrought microstructure and properties that are substantially free the interstitial spaces.

A metal composite, a method of preparing the metal composite, a metal-resin composite, and a method of preparing the metal-resin composite are provided. The metal composite comprises: a metal substrate comprising a first layer formed on a surface of the metal substrate and an anodic oxidation layer formed on the first layer. The first layer comprises a first pore having an average diameter of about 10 nanometers to about 1 millimeter, and the metal composite comprises aluminum alloy or aluminum. The anodic oxidation layer comprises a second layer contacted with the first layer of the metal substrate and a third layer formed on an outer surface of the second layer, and the second layer comprises a second pore having an average diameter of about 10 nanometers to about 800 microns, and the third layer comprises a third pore having an average diameter of about 10 nanometers to about 800 microns.

The invention is directed to a composite polymer/nanoporous film system and methods of fabrication of tunable nanoporous coatings on flexible polymer substrates. The porosity of the nanoporous film can be tuned during fabrication to a desired value by adjusting the deposition conditions. Experiments show that SiO.sub.2 coatings with tunable porosity fabricated by oblique-angle electron beam deposition can be deposited on polymer substrates. These conformable coatings have many applications, including in the field of optics where the ability to fabricate tunable refractive index coatings on a variety of materials and shapes is of great importance.

The embodiments described herein relate to anodic oxides and methods for forming anodic oxides. The methods involve incorporating an ultraviolet (UV) light absorbing compounds into anodic oxides to prevent color fading of the anodic oxides caused by exposure to UV light. In some embodiments, the UV light absorbing compound includes para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA). The UV light absorbing compound can be incorporated within the anodic oxide during a sealing process. The UV light absorbing compound becomes infused within a seal layer, which is formed during the sealing process. The resultant anodic oxide has a UV light absorbing seal layer that can block UV light from reaching any underlying colorant existing within the anodic oxide.

A transparent glass or ceramic or glass-ceramic substrate, coated with a functional layer or with a stack of at least two functional layers, the functional layer or at least one of the functional layers of the stack being porous and made of an inorganic material M1, wherein the or at least one of the porous functional layer(s) of inorganic material M1 has, at the surface of at least one portion of the pores thereof, at least one inorganic material M2 different from M1.

A semi-transparent coating material for coating glass or glass ceramics includes at least one sol-gel hybrid-polymer coating system having a hybrid-polymer or inorganic sol-gel-based matrix, and nanoparticles and nanoscale pigments and/or dyes are added to the hybrid-polymer or inorganic sol-gel-based matrix.

To provide a surface structure of an aluminum-based member which can further improve heat insulating properties and heat shielding properties of the aluminum-based member. In an aluminum-based member 1 containing at least a silicon composition, a porous oxide film 2 is provided on a surface of the aluminum-based member 1, and the oxide film 2 is constituted to have at least a pore 2a extending from the surface toward an inside in a thickness direction of the oxide film 2 and a void 3a present inside the silicon composition 3 extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the thickness direction of the oxide film 2.