Patent ID: 8540890

Claim:
A method for treating a surface of a porous material in an environment, comprising: i. setting a temperature of a surface of a porous material to a value T 1 and setting a pressure of an environment to a value P 1 ; ii. contacting the surface with a fluid having a solidifying temperature at the pressure value P 1 above the temperature value T 1 and having a vaporizing temperature at the pressure value P 1 below 80° C., thereby solidifying the fluid in pores of the material, thereby sealing the pores; iii. treating the surface by an etching of the surface or by a modification of the surface; and iv. setting the temperature of the surface to a value T 2 and setting the pressure of the environment to a value P 2 in such a way as to vaporize the fluid, whereby a treated porous material is obtained; wherein: the step i precedes the step ii, the step ii precedes the step iii, and the step iii precedes the step iv, or the step i precedes the step ii, the step ii overlaps or is simultaneous with the step iii, and the step iii precedes the step iv, or the step ii precedes the step i, the step i precedes the step iii, and the step iii precedes the step iv.