| abstract |
A silica-based coating for, and a method for coating glass, metal, ceramic, and plastic surfaces by forming single cross-linked O-Si-O polymer chains. The coating generally comprises a binder and a filler. The binder is a mixture of silica-based polymers, colloidal silica, and metal oxide particles in an aqueous suspension. It includes four main ingredients: an alkali metal silicate; silica gel; a cross-linking agent such as methyltrimethoxysilane or tetraethoxysilane; and water. After curing, the binder forms an amorphous layer that binds the fillers to the surface. The protective coating is formed at room temperature, without the addition of energy in any form. The fillers are chosen to provide the coating with mechanical strength, abrasion resistance, and increased corrosion resistance. Fillers may also be chosen to modify the coating's dielectric constant, to improve the coating's surface lubricity, and to alter the coating's thermal coefficient of expansion. Typical fillers include clay, wollastonite, nepheline syenite, talc, flint, ceramic fibers, metallic fibers, ceramic microspheres, glass microspheres, cerium dioxide, and dichromium trioxide. |