The substrate for a printed circuit board according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a base film having insulating properties, and a metal layer stacked on at least one surface of the base film, in which the base film includes a portion where a transition metal in group 10 of the periodic table is present. The transition metal in group 10 is preferably nickel or palladium. The portion where the transition metal in group 10 is present preferably includes a region having an average thickness of 500 nm and extending from an interface with the metal layer.

The instant disclosure provides a self-adsorbed catalyst composition, a method for preparing the self-adsorbed catalyst composition and a method for manufacturing an electroless plating substrate. The self-adsorbed catalyst composition includes colloidal nanoparticles and a silane compound. The colloidal nanoparticles include palladium nanoparticles and capping agents enclosing the palladium nanoparticles. The silane compound has at least an amino group, and an interaction is established between the amino group of the silane compound and the colloidal nanoparticle.

A non-aqueous silver precursor composition contains at least 1 weight % of one or more (a) polymers that are certain cellulosic polymers; (b) reducible silver ions; and (c) an organic solvent medium consisting of: (i) a hydroxylic organic solvent having an -hydrogen atom and a boiling point at atmospheric pressure of 100-500 C., and, optionally, (ii) a nitrile-containing aprotic solvent or a carbonate-containing aprotic solvent different from the (i) organic solvent, each having a boiling point at atmospheric pressure of 100-500 C. The (b) reducible silver ions are present in an amount of 0.1-400 weight %, based on the total weight of the one or more (a) polymers. This composition can be used to form silver nanoparticles under silver ion reducing conditions and then applied to various substrates to provide silver nanoparticle patterns.

A manufacturing method that enables an electrode to be formed on a specific portion of a surface of a sintered ceramic body by a simple technique. A method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component includes preparing a sintered ceramic body that contains a metal oxide, and forming low-resistance portions that is formed by reducing the resistance of portions of the ceramic body by radiating laser onto electrode-formation regions of surfaces of the ceramic body. The method further includes causing a catalytic metal to selectively adhere to the low-resistance portions by immersing the ceramic body, in which the low-resistance portions have been formed, in a catalytic metal substitution treatment solution, and forming a plating layer that serves as an electrode onto the low-resistance portions by performing electroless plating on the ceramic body to which the catalytic metal has adhered.

A method of producing an electroconductive substrate including a base material, and an electroconductive pattern disposed on one main surface side of the base material includes: a step of forming a trench including a bottom surface to which a foundation layer is exposed, and a lateral surface which includes a surface of a trench formation layer, according to an imprint method; and a step of forming an electroconductive pattern layer by growing metal plating from the foundation layer which is exposed to the bottom surface of the trench.

A new method capable of forming a circuit by performing metal plating on a desired portion on a substrate through a small number of steps regardless of the kind of the substrate. A method for forming a circuit on a substrate characterized in that when forming a circuit by plating on a substrate, the method includes steps of applying a coating film containing a silicone oligomer and a catalyst metal onto the substrate, and thereafter, performing an activation treatment of the catalyst metal in the coating film to make the catalyst metal exhibit autocatalytic properties, and then, performing electroless plating.

Provided herein is a method of making decorative articles such as seashells comprising the steps of providing an article; coating a first transparent protecting layer on the article; painting a decorative pattern layer on the first transparent protecting layer with an adhesive; covering the decorative pattern layer by metal powder to form a metal powder layer on the decorative pattern layer; curing partially or completely the adhesive to fix the metal powder on the decorative pattern layer; and forming at least one continuous metal layer on the metal powder layer by an electroplating method. Also provided herein are decorative articles such as seashells made by the methods disclosed herein.

Electrically-conductive silver metal can be provided in a thin film or pattern on a substrate from a silver complex having reducing silver ions and represented by:

(Ag.sup.+).sub.a(L).sub.b(P).sub.c (I)

wherein L represents an -oxy carboxylate; P represents a 5- or 6-membered N-heteroaromatic compound; a is 1 or 2; b is 1 or 2; and c is 1, 2, 3, or 4, provided that when a is 1, b is 1, and when a is 2, b is 2. The silver complex is mixed in a hydroxy-free, nitrile-containing aprotic solvent with a polymer that is either (i) a hydroxy-containing cellulosic polymer or (ii) a non-cellulosic acrylic polymer having a halo- or hydroxy-containing side chain. The reducible silver ions in the a thermally sensitive thin film or pattern can be thermally converted to electrically-conductive metallic silver under suitable heating conditions to provide a product article that can be used in various devices.

Electrically-conductive silver metal can be provided in a thin film or pattern on a substrate from a silver complex having reducing silver ions and represented by:

##STR00001##

wherein L represents an -oxy carboxylate; P represents a primary alkylamine compound; a is 1 or 2; b is 1 or 2; and c is 1, 2, 3, or 4, provided that when a is 1, b is 1, and when a is 2, b is 2. The silver complex is mixed in a hydroxy-free, nitrile-containing aprotic solvent with a polymer that is either (i) a hydroxy-containing cellulosic polymer or (ii) a non-cellulosic acrylic polymer having a halo- or hydroxy-containing side chain. The reducible silver ions in the a thermally sensitive thin film or pattern can be thermally converted to electrically-conductive metallic silver under suitable heating conditions to provide a product article that can be used in various devices.

A method of forming a patterned metal unit on an article. The method includes the steps of: providing an article that has an insulating surface; transferring a catalyst layer onto the insulating surface of the article, the catalyst layer including a catalytic material; removing a part of the catalyst layer to form a patterned catalyst layer; and forming a patterned metal layer on the patterned catalyst layer by an electroless plating technique to obtain a patterned metal unit that is constituted by the patterned catalyst layer and the patterned metal layer.