Abstract:
The present invention discloses a method of manufacturing gas diffusion layers (GDL) with a defined pattern of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. The method to produce electrically conductive porous materials with distributed wettability comprises the steps of: a) Coating the external and internal surfaces of a porous base material made of carbon fiber or Titanium with Fluoroethylene-Propylene (FEP) and/or perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) and/or Ethylene-Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) or any other hydrophobic polymer; b) Exposing the coated material to irradiation through a blocking mask such that only parts of the coated porous material are exposed; c) Immersing the previously exposed material in a monomer solution and heating to a temperature higher than 45°C, resulting in the graft co-polymerization of monomers on the FEP layer.
Abstract:
It is the aim of the invention to provide a technology for the stimulation of the crystallization of biomolecules contained in a liquid solution that leads to significant improvements in the reliability of crystall growth processes and shortens the time and the number of attempts to grow a certain biomolecule crystal, also under the condition that only very small amounts of the biomolecules are available. This task is solved according to the invention by a method for generating an artificially patterned substrate for stimulating the crystallation of a biomolecule, comprising: a) treating a basic substrate for providing an artificially patterned substrate (4); i) generating said artificially patterned substrate by exposing x-ray-radiation to said basic substrate; ii) performing said exposing of the x-ray-radiation (2) according to X-ray interference lithography technology; With respect to a method for stimulating the crystallization of biomolecules from a liquid solution (20) containing said biomolecules (16, 18), this task is solved according to the invention by a method comprising: a) treating a basic substrate for providing an artificially patterned substrate; i) generating said artificially patterned substrate by exposing x-ray-radiation to said basic substrate; ii) performing said exposing of the X-ray-radiation according to X-ray interference lithography technology; b) bringing said artificially patterned substrate into contact with said solution for initiating the crystallization of said biomolecules on the pattern of the artificially patterned substrate.
Abstract:
According to the present invention a method for grafting a chemical compound to a predetermined region of a support substrate (4) is disclosed, comprising: a) irradiating selectively the support substrate with electromagnetic radiation and/or particle radiation in order to both define said predetermined region and to form at least one reactive functional group or a precursor thereof in said predetermined region of the support substrate; b) exposing the irradiated support substrate to said chemical compound or to a precursor thereof. Therefore, only these very few steps are needed to effectively grafting the desired chemical compound, such as an organic compound, to the predetermined regions of the support substrate. Moreover, the irradiation step can be carried out in a vastly flexible manner and allows to generate numerous distinct shapes of the predetermined regions. Further, micro- or nano-scale regions in the support substrate capable of forming reactive functional groups or precursors thereof upon exposure to particle or electromagnetic irradiation can be easily achieved.