To provide a method for producing lanthanum hexaboride-containing composite particles which are capable of forming a formed product having sufficiently high transparency and which are excellent in weather resistance, by a simple operation without calcination treatment at high temperature, and a method for producing a formed product using it. Also provided is a method for producing composite particles, which involves: reacting at least one silica precursor selected from a tetraalkoxysilane, its hydrolysate and its condensate, in the presence of lanthanum hexaboride particles, a volatile base, water and an organic solvent to obtain a first reaction mixture, and reacting the first reaction mixture with at least one silicon compound selected from an amino-modified silicone, an alkylsilane and an aminosilane, or the silicon compound and the silica precursor added, to obtain a second reaction mixture containing lanthanum hexaboride-containing composite particles.

To provide a method for producing lanthanum hexaboride-containing composite particles which are capable of forming a formed product having sufficiently high transparency and which are excellent in weather resistance, by a simple operation without calcination treatment at high temperature, and a method for producing a formed product using it. Also provided is a method for producing composite particles, which involves: reacting at least one silica precursor selected from a tetraalkoxysilane, its hydrolysate and its condensate, in the presence of lanthanum hexaboride particles, a volatile base, water and an organic solvent to obtain a first reaction mixture, and reacting the first reaction mixture with at least one silicon compound selected from an amino-modified silicone, an alkylsilane and an aminosilane, or the silicon compound and the silica precursor added, to obtain a second reaction mixture containing lanthanum hexaboride-containing composite particles.

A product includes a solution comprising Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots in a solvent. The solution is colloidally stable for at least one week. A product includes a solid layer formed of Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots. The layer is at least 100 nm thick. The layer is physically characterized by a substantial absence of defects therein. A process includes forming a solution of Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots and adding at least acetonitrile to the solution. The process further includes separating the Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots from the solution and washing the Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots at least two times in a solution comprising at least acetonitrile. The process further includes redispersing the washed Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots in a nonpolar solvent to create a colloidal suspension.

A product includes a solution comprising Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots in a solvent. The solution is colloidally stable for at least one week. A product includes a solid layer formed of Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots. The layer is at least 100 nm thick. The layer is physically characterized by a substantial absence of defects therein. A process includes forming a solution of Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots and adding at least acetonitrile to the solution. The process further includes separating the Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots from the solution and washing the Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots at least two times in a solution comprising at least acetonitrile. The process further includes redispersing the washed Ag.sub.2Se quantum dots in a nonpolar solvent to create a colloidal suspension.

The use of a modified reduced indium tin oxide to provide a security image wherein the modified reduced indium tin oxide is obtained by heating indium tin oxide in a reducing atmosphere at a temperature of from 300 to 500° C.; and contacting the reduced indium tin oxide with an organophosphorus compound.

The present invention provides a glitter pigment suitable for imparting high brightness to reflected light toward a regular reflection direction and reducing unnaturalness caused by an observation angle-dependent variation in reflected light. The glitter pigment according to the present invention includes: a flaky substrate; an optical interference film formed on a surface of the flaky substrate; and fine light scattering particles attached to the optical interference film, wherein reflected light is represented by an L*(15) value of more than 100, a ΔL*(h−s) value of less than 30, and a Δh(h−s) value of less than 40° in an L*C*h color system. The L*(15) value is an L* value of the reflected light toward a 15° direction based on an angular representation in which, when an illuminant is disposed so that an incident angle is 45°, an angle at which light is regularly reflected is defined as 0° and a light incident direction is defined as positive. The ΔL*(h−s) value is a difference in L* between a highlight and shade, and the Δh(h−s) value is a difference in h between a highlight and shade. The Δh value expressed in angle is an angular difference. The highlight is an average of values measured at 15° and 25°, and the shade is an average of values measured at 75° and 110°.

Porous metal oxide microspheres are prepared via a process comprising forming a liquid solution or dispersion of polydisperse polymer nanoparticles and a metal oxide; forming liquid droplets from the solution or dispersion; drying the liquid droplets to provide polymer template microspheres comprising polymer nanospheres and metal oxide; and removing the polymer nanospheres from the template microspheres to provide the porous metal oxide microspheres. The porous microspheres exhibit saturated colors and are suitable as colorants for a variety of end-uses.

There are provided a coating composition being possible to form a cured film which has excellent transparency and weather resistance, and especially hardness. A coating composition obtained by which a silicon-containing substance as a component (M) and a silica colloidal particle having a primary particle diameter of 2 to 80 nm as a component (S) are mixed, and then the component (M) is hydrolyzed, and the resulting aqueous solution is subsequently mixed with a colloidal particle (C) wherein a component (F) is a modified metal oxide colloidal particle (C) having a primary particle diameter of 2 to 100 nm, which includes a metal oxide colloidal particle (A) having a primary particle diameter of 2 to 60 nm as a core, whose surface is coated with a coating (B) formed of an acidic oxide colloidal particle.

The present invention relates to particles comprising a core, in particular a magnetic core, and a first coating of a first shell material, wherein a second coating of a second shell material is applied to the surface of the first coating facing away from the core, the second shell material is different from the first shell material and has a higher refractive index than the first shell material.

The present invention provides a new glitter pigment suitable for providing high-brightness whitish reflected light. The glitter pigment according to the present invention includes: a flaky substrate 1; and a silicon oxide layer 2 and a titanium oxide layer 3 formed in this order on the flaky substrate 1, wherein in the case where the flaky substrate is the glass flake, the glass flake has a thickness of 284 to 322 nm, the silicon oxide layer has a thickness of 89 to 109 nm, and the titanium oxide layer has a thickness of 51 to 86 nm. In the case where the flaky substrate is the alumina flake, the alumina flake has a thickness of 260 to 280 nm, the silicon oxide layer has a thickness of 79 to 102 nm, and the titanium oxide layer has a thickness of 47 to 87 nm.