TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The coating is hydrophilic in nature. The coating comprises inorganic structures of 10-90% and hydrophilic side chains of 5-70%. The coating is prepared by a sol-gel process. The size of the nanoparticles is 2-5 nm. The nanoparticles are silicon dioxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, tin oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, molybdenum oxide, iridium oxide, ruthenium oxide, metastable oxynitrides, nonstoichiometric metal oxides, oxynitrides or their derivatives. The inorganic structures comprise silicon dioxide or nonstoichiometric silicon oxide or zirconium oxide. The nanoparticles are present in a nodule shape. The coating further comprises an electrically conductive material. The first and second coating comprises an electrically conductive material, where the second coating overlies the substrate and the first coating overlies the second coating. The electrically conductive material comprises gold, silver, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum or rare earth metals or their alloys, polymeric carbon or graphite.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Components: The substrate is a bipolar plate made of a metal or a polymeric composite material comprising fiber structures for increased stiffness and/or conductivity. The bipolar plate comprises a gas flow field comprising lands and channels, where the coating is present over the lands and channels.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The process further comprises: removing the coating from the lands, where the slurry is deposited only over the channels or a portion of the channel through the flow field; depositing a mask over a portion of the bipolar plate prior to depositing the slurry, where the mask leaves portions of the bipolar plate exposed in which the slurry is deposited over the mask and exposed portions of the bipolar plate; removing the mask and the coating over the mask, where the mask comprises one of a hard mask, photoresist mask or water washable mask in which the mask is present over the lands; depositing a mask over the coating that is over the channels and removing the coating over the lands, and removing any remaining portion of the mask; and curing the liquid coating by driving off the carrier to provide a cured coating. Preferred Composition: The product further comprises a second coating. Preferred Components: The nanoparticles comprises hydroxyl, halide, carboxyl, ketonic or aldehyde functional groups; and organic side chains having functional groups. The hydrophilic side chains comprise amino, sulfonate, sulfate, sulfite, sulfonamide, sulfoxide, carboxylate, polyol, polyether, phosphate, or phosphonate group. The functional groups comprise at least one of epoxy, acryloxy, methacryloxy, glycidyloxy, allyl, vinyl, carboxyl, mercapto, hydroxyl, amide or amino, isocyano, hydroxy or silanol groups. The polar group comprises a hydroxyl group, halide, carboxyl, ketonic, or aldehyde functional group. The nanoparticles comprises: a silicon group like Si-O, at least one polar group and at least one group including a saturated or unsaturated carbon chain; or Si-O group and a silicon group like Si-R group (in which R is optionally saturated carbon chain) and the molar ratio of Si-R groups to Si-O groups ranges from 1/8-1/2. The carbon chain is optionally cyclic having 1-4 carbon atoms. The first coating further comprises polar groups to improve the hydrophilicity of the coating.