The present invention pertains to an electrode-forming composition comprising: (a) at least one fluoropolymer [polymer (F)]; (b) particles of at least one active electrode material [particles (P)], said particles (P) comprising: —a core comprising at least one active electrode compound [compound (NMC)] of formula (I): Li[Li.sub.x(A.sub.pB.sub.QC.sub.w).sub.1-x]O.sub.2 (I) wherein A, B and C, different from each other, are selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Mn and Co, x is comprised between 0 and 0.3, P is comprised between 0.2 and 0.8, preferably between 0.2 and 0.5, more preferably between 0.2 and 0.4, Q is comprised between 0.1 and 0.4, and W is comprised between 0.1 and 0.4, and —an outer layer consisting of a metal compound [compound (M)] different from Lithium, said outer layer at least partially surrounding said core; and (c) a liquid medium [medium (L)]. The present invention also pertains to a process for manufacturing said electrode-forming composition, to the use of said electrode-forming composition in a process for manufacturing a positive electrode and to the positive electrode obtainable therefrom.

Walls of through-holes and vias of substrates with dielectric material are electroless plated with copper using tin-free ionic silver catalysts. Conductive polymers are first formed on the substrates by treating the substrates with a permanganate solution containing complexing anions followed by applying monomers, oligomers or conductive polymers to the substrate to form a conductive polymer coating on the dielectric of the substrate as well as on the walls of through-holes and vias of the substrate. A tin-free ionic silver catalyst is then applied to the treated substrate. Optionally, the tin-free ionic silver catalyst can include a ligand agent to form a coordination entity with the silver ions of the tin-free catalyst. The silver ions of the tin-free catalyst are reduced by the conductive polymer and then an electroless metal copper bath is applied to the treated substrate to copper plate the dielectric and walls of the through-holes and vias of the substrate.

A fused deposition modeling printer comprises a reservoir for raw material, heating head assembly and a feeding conduit connecting the reservoir to the heating head. The heating head defines a sealed enclosure and comprises a conduit comprising a conduit surface for guiding a flow of material therein; an electrically conductive layer providing an electric resistance along the conduit surface for heating the material onto molten material; an electrolysis component located in the conduit distant from the conduit surface, comprising an electrolysis electrode; a nozzle through which exits the molten material from the heating head; an exhaust outlet for discharging gas resulting from the electrolysis out of the heating head; and a feeding conduit connecting the reservoir to the heating head. The fused deposition modeling printer is adapted to perform at the same time material deposition and electrolysis of the molten material.

Disclosed are an anode active material for lithium secondary batteries, the anode active material comprising: a core part including a carbon-silicon complex and having a cavity therein; and a coated layer which is formed on the surface of the core part and includes a phosphor-based alloy.

An electrically conductive material with which excellent conduction reliability can be achieved for an oxide layer. The electrically conductive material contains electrically conductive particles including resin core particles, a plurality of electrically insulating particles being disposed on the surface of the resin core particles and forming protrusions, and an electrically conductive layer being disposed on the surface of the resin core particles and the electrically insulating particles, a Mohs' hardness of the electrically insulating particles being greater than 7. As a result, the electrically conductive particles pierce and sufficiently penetrate the oxide layer of the electrode surface so that excellent conduction reliability can be achieved.

An environmentally friendly method of coating copper nanowires to reduce oxidation and/or increase electrical/thermal conductivity of the copper nanowires. In one embodiment, a method for coating copper nanowires includes preparing a first solution including a dipolar aprotic organic compound, adding copper nanowires to the first solution under stirring while maintaining the first solution at a pre-determined temperature, preparing a second solution including an oxidation resistant metal, coating the copper nanowires in the oxidation resistant metal by adding the second solution to the first solution under stirring and while maintaining the first solution at the pre-determined temperature.

A copper-coated palladium-containing particle dispersion in which copper-coated palladium-containing particles, which are obtained by coating surfaces of palladium-containing particles with copper, are dispersed is prepared, a platinum ion-containing solution is prepared, and a shell is formed by mixing the copper-coated palladium-containing particle dispersion and the platinum ion-containing solution with each other in a microreactor to displace copper of the copper-coated palladium-containing particle surfaces with platinum. The microreactor includes at least a first supply flow path, a second supply flow path, a joint portion in which the first supply flow path and the second supply flow path are joined to each other, and a discharge flow path. An orifice portion is provided midway in the discharge flow path. A pressure applied to the orifice portion in the displacement step is 2 MPa or higher.

The method for producing noble metal nanocomposites involves reducing noble metal ions (Ag, Au and Pt) on graphene oxide (GO) or carbon nanotubes (CNT) by using Artocarpus integer leaves extract as a reducing agent. As synthesized MNPs/GO and MNPs/CNT composites have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The TEM images of prepared materials showed that the nanocomposites were 1-30 nm in size with spherical nanoparticles embedded on the surface of GO and CNT. This synthetic route is easy and rapid for preparing a variety of nanocomposites. The method avoids use of toxic chemicals, and the prepared nanocomposites can be used for biosensor, fuel cell, and biomedical applications.

Metal nanowires with uniform noble metal coatings are described. Two methods, galvanic exchange and direct deposition, are disclosed for the successful formation of the uniform noble metal coatings. Both the galvanic exchange reaction and the direct deposition method benefit from the inclusion of appropriately strong binding ligands to control or mediate the coating process to provide for the formation of a uniform coating. The noble metal coated nanowires are effective for the production of stable transparent conductive films, which may comprise a fused metal nanostructured network.

Novel nanoparticle-coated multilayer shell microstructures are disclosed herein. Some variations of the invention provide a material comprising a plurality of hollow microstructures characterized by an average shortest diameter from about 5 microns to about 1 millimeter, wherein each of the microstructures comprises multiple shells, including at least an inner shell and an outmost shell, with a combined thickness that is less than one-tenth of the average shortest diameter. The inner shell and the outmost shell have different composition. The outmost shell comprises nanoparticles sized between about 10 nanometers to about 500 nanometers, and the nanoparticles each contain an oxide and/or are surrounded by an oxide layer having a layer thickness of at least 1 nanometer. Several microstructure configurations are illustrated in the drawings.