Abstract: A coated material contains a substrate and a protective coating in which the protective coating is formed of a plurality of monomer units covalently bonded to a surface of a substrate such that each monomer unit contains a hydrophobic tail group covalently bonded to the surface of the substrate through an organic linking group. The protective coating is formed by a process including the steps of contacting the surface of the substrate with a surface activator containing a fluoride-containing compound and an organic solvent to form an activated surface, contacting the activated surface with a protective reagent to form an initial coated surface, and contacting the initial coated surface with a thinning agent containing a fluoride-containing compound and a surfactant to form the protective coating.

Abstract: A method for coating a surface of a material involves contacting a surface of a material with a surface activator containing a fluoride-containing compound and an organic solvent to form an activated surface, contacting the activated surface with a protective reagent to form an initial coated surface, and contacting the initial coated surface with a thinning agent containing a fluoride-containing compound and a surfactant to from a final coated surface, wherein the final coated surface is coated with a protective coating that is covalently bonded to the surface of the material.