The present invention relates to metal coatings and methods thereof. In certain embodiments, the invention relates to ultra-low wear noble metal alloys, such as for use in electrical contact coatings.

Disclosed are: a method capable of preparing, in large-scaled quantity, nonspherical/asymmetric fine particles in which the physical factors (for example, size, shape, structure, etc.) of a fine wire (for example, glass-coated metal wires) are controlled, by merging a convergence of nano technology (NT) and laser machining technology; and a use thereof applicable to various fields including bioassay and security.

The present invention relates generally to components prepared by additive manufacturing (AM) methods, along with methods of preparing such components by AM. More especially, there is provided a process for the production of a component of an ignition device using an AM method by forming a layer of metal or alloy on a surface of a metal or alloy substrate; fusing the layer to the substrate; and repeating the addition of such layers upon one another to form a deposited metal or alloy attachment on the substrate.

A cathode sputtering target is formed, on the one hand, from an oxide of at least one element chosen from the group of titanium, silicon and zirconium and, on the other hand, of particles of a metal included in the group formed by silver, gold, platinum, copper and nickel or particles of an alloy formed from at least two of these metals, the atomic ratio M/Me in the target being less than 1.5, M representing all of the atoms of the elements of the group of titanium, silicon and zirconium present in the layer and Me representing all of the atoms of the metals of the group formed by silver, gold, platinum, copper and nickel present in the layer.

An additive manufacturing method includes: applying a first liquid slurry including a first liquid carrier and polymeric particles onto a substrate as droplets; applying a second liquid slurry including a second liquid carrier and metallic particles onto the substrate as droplets; heating the droplets to substantially evaporate the first liquid carrier from the polymeric particles and the second liquid carrier from the metallic particles; and applying radiant energy to the polymeric particles and the metallic particles to sinter the polymeric particles and the metallic particles. The first liquid slurry and the second liquid slurry are applied onto the substrate as separate slurries, and the polymeric particles and the metallic particles are nanoparticles.

An additive manufacturing method includes: applying a first liquid slurry including a first liquid carrier and polymeric particles onto a substrate as droplets; applying a second liquid slurry including a second liquid carrier and metallic particles onto the substrate as droplets; heating the droplets to substantially evaporate the first liquid carrier from the polymeric particles and the second liquid carrier from the metallic particles; and applying radiant energy to the polymeric particles and the metallic particles to sinter the polymeric particles and the metallic particles. The first liquid slurry and the second liquid slurry are applied onto the substrate as separate slurries, and the polymeric particles and the metallic particles are nanoparticles.

Alloyed Ag/Au nanospheres with high compositional homogeneity ensured by annealing at elevated temperatures show large extinction cross-sections, extremely narrow band-widths and remarkable stability in harsh chemical environments. A critical temperature has been found to be around 930 C., below which the resulting alloy nanospheres, although significantly more stable than pure silver nanoparticles, can still gradually decay upon extended exposure to harsh etchant. The nanospheres annealed above the critical temperature show homogeneous distribution of Ag and Au elements, minimal crystallographic defects, absence of structural and compositional interfaces, which account for the extremely narrow bandwidths of the surface plasmon resonance, and may render many plasmonic applications with high performance and long lifetime, especially for those involving corrosive species.

Alloyed Ag/Au nanospheres with high compositional homogeneity ensured by annealing at elevated temperatures show large extinction cross-sections, extremely narrow band-widths and remarkable stability in harsh chemical environments. A critical temperature has been found to be around 930 C., below which the resulting alloy nanospheres, although significantly more stable than pure silver nanoparticles, can still gradually decay upon extended exposure to harsh etchant. The nanospheres annealed above the critical temperature show homogeneous distribution of Ag and Au elements, minimal crystallographic defects, absence of structural and compositional interfaces, which account for the extremely narrow bandwidths of the surface plasmon resonance, and may render many plasmonic applications with high performance and long lifetime, especially for those involving corrosive species.

The present invention provides a process for producing a noble-metal powder, the process being capable of producing, at low cost, a noble-metal powder having a narrow particle-size distribution range, high purity and high crystallinity. The present invention relates to a process for producing a noble-metal powder and including a step in which an acidic aqueous solution of both one or more noble-metal compounds and a calcium compound is prepared, a step in which the acidic aqueous solution is added to a basic aqueous solution to yield one or more oxides or hydroxides of the noble metal(s) or a mixture of two or more thereof and yield a calcium hydroxide, a step in which the oxides or hydroxides of the noble metal(s) or the mixture is reduced with a reducing agent, and a step in which a solid matter including a reduced form of the noble metal(s) is separated and heat-treated.

A method of making a supported catalytic species comprising an alloy of at least two metals, comprises the steps of: (i) combining a particulate support material, a solution of a first metal compound, a solution of a second metal compound, and a solution of an alkaline precipitating agent to form a slurry mixture; (ii) agitating the resultant mixture; and (iii) contacting the solids with a reducing agent, wherein the first metal in the first metal compound and the second metal in the second metal compound is each independently selected from the group consisting of gold, palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium, silver, osmium and ruthenium; and wherein the first metal is not the same as the second metal.