A process for depositing a metal on a substrate involves the use of two reduction reactions in a bottom-up based tandem manner starting from a substrate surface and working upward. A first reduction reaction starts on the substrate surface at ambient temperature, and a second reduction reaction, which is initiated by the reaction heat of the first reduction reaction, occurs in a reactive ink solution film coated on top, which becomes solid after the reaction. Gas and other small molecules generated from the reduction reactions, and the solvent, can readily escape through the upper surface of the film before the solid metal layer is formed or during post-treatment, with no or few voids left in the metal film. Thus, the process can be used to form highly conductive films and features at ambient temperature on various substrates.

Pyrazine derivatives which contain one or more electron donating groups on the ring are used as catalytic metal complexing agents in aqueous alkaline environments to catalyze electroless metal plating on metal clad and un-clad substrates. The catalysts are monomers and free of tin and antioxidants.

A silver-coated particle (P1) is provided. The silver-coated particle (P1) includes a core particle (2) made of a resin particle or an inorganic particle and a silver coating layer (1) formed on a surface of the core particle (2), wherein, an amount of silver contained in the silver coating layer (1) is 5 to 90 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts of the silver-coated particle (P1), a crystallite diameter of the silver, which is calculated from a diffraction line obtained by filling a sample holder belonging to an X-ray diffraction apparatus with the silver-coated particle (P1); and irradiating X-ray in a range of 2/=30 to 120 deg., is in a range of 35 nm to 200 nm.

Pyrazine derivatives which contain one or more electron donating groups on the ring are used as catalytic metal complexing agents in aqueous alkaline environments to catalyze electroless metal plating on metal clad and un-clad substrates. The catalysts are monomers and free of tin and antioxidants.

A conductive nanowire film having a high aspect-ratio metal is described. The nanowire film is produced by inducing metal reduction in a concentrated surfactant solution containing metal precursor ions, a surfactant and a reducing agent. The metal nanostructures demonstrate utility in a great variety of applications.

The present invention provides a conductive laminate for a touch panel which includes a substrate, and a patterned metal layer which is visually recognized to have greater blackness when viewed from the substrate side; a touch panel; and a transparent conductive laminate. The conductive laminate includes a substrate which has two main surfaces; a patterned plated layer which is disposed on at least one main surface of the substrate and has a functional group that interacts with metal ions; and a patterned metal layer which is disposed on the patterned plated layer, in which the patterned plated layer includes a metal component constituting the patterned metal layer and the ratio of the average peak intensity resulting from the metal component contained in the patterned plated layer to the average peak intensity resulting from the metal component constituting the patterned metal layer is in a range of 0.5 to 0.95.

A conductive nanowire film based on a high aspect-ratio metal is disclosed. The nanowire film is produced by inducing metal reduction in a concentrated surfactant solution containing metal precursor ions, a surfactant and a reducing agent. The metal nanostructures demonstrate utility in a great variety of applications.

Disclosed herein is a method for preparing a multilayer metal complex having excellent surface properties. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method for preparing a multilayer metal complex having a low cost metal-core/noble metal-shell structure, which has a high mass fraction of noble metals and exhibits excellent surface properties and dispersity.

Pyrazine derivatives which contain one or more electron donating groups on the ring are used as catalytic metal complexing agents in aqueous alkaline environments to catalyze electroless metal plating on metal clad and un-clad substrates. The catalysts are monomers and free of tin and antioxidants.

The present invention relates to the etching, activation and deposition of a first metal or metal alloy layer onto non-conductive polymers. The non-conductive polymer is etched with an aqueous solution comprising 0.75 to 3.6 g/l permanganate ions in 60 to 80 vol.-% sulfuric acid, activating with a solution comprising a noble metal and depositing a first metal or metal alloy by immersion-type or electroless (autocatalytic) plating. The first metal or metal alloy layer obtained has a high adhesion on the non-conductive polymer and serves as a plating base for electroplating further metal and/or metal alloy layer(s) thereon.