Coatings for mechanical and chemical protection based on organic-inorganic sol-gel nanocomposites

The sol-gel process opens the possibility of combining inorganic and organic units on a molecular or nanosized level. The flexible chemical approach of tailoring inorganic structures as well as organic polymeric structures in combination with the new concept of incorporation of nanoscaled metal oxide particles (in general boehmite) opens the possibility of achieving new multifunctional materials like extremely high scratch resistance, antisoiling properties, antifogging properties and corrosion-inhibitant coatings on metals