Abstract: An article includes: a transparent substrate having a primary surface; and a protective film disposed on the primary surface, such that each of the substrate and the protective film have an optical transmittance of 20% or more in the visible spectrum, and such that the protective film includes at least one of: (1) a hardness of greater than 13 GPa, as measured by a Berkovich nanoindenter, or (2) an effective fracture toughness (Kc) of greater than 2.5 MPa·m1/2, as measured by indentation fracture at a depth of greater than 1 ?m.

Abstract: The present invention relates to Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) coatings on metal substrates and methods of making the same. The invention particularly relates, in a preferred embodiment, to a metallic substrate such as stainless steel or Ti alloy having a silicon material (such as an organosilicone, silicon nitride, silicon carbide or silicon carbon nitride) intermediate layer and a DLC layer, optionally doped with Si, deposited thereon, and a method for making the same.

Abstract: The new preparation process for making fine high specific surface ceramic powders suitable as catalysts or precursors for ceramics uses lanthanum (or other rare earth lanthanide) oxide as one of the precursors. The oxide is mixed with water to form a liquid slurry, whereby it is transformed to the hydroxide by reaction with water. The resulting hydroxide slurry, which can be milled to reduce the particle size and to speed up the reaction, is then combined, while stirring vigorously to assure homogenous mixing, with a solution of required amount of remaining metal nitrate precursors, for example strontium and cobalt nitrates. The reaction between lanthanum hydroxide and transition metal nitrates produces a colored (color depending on the transition metal) slurry consisting of metal hydroxides suspended in aqueous nitrate solution with pH>2. This perovskite precursor slurry is spray-frozen and freeze dried.