A transparent conductive film including metal nanowires and a colored compound adsorbed by the metal nanowires is provided. The metal nanowires are a material which absorbs light in the visible light region, and also each has a functional group which is bound to a metal constituting the metal nanowire.

A gas blocking cable includes cabled wires, where each wire includes cabled conductors having interstitial areas there between. An insulation material circumferentially surrounds the cabled conductors and a conductor filling material is positioned within the interstitial areas between conductors. A shield circumferentially surrounds the cabled wires so that a cable is formed with areas between the wires. A wire filling material is positioned within the areas between the wires. Each of the conductor filling material and wire filling material is inert, non-flammable and able to withstand a temperature of at least approximately 200 C.

A method of preparing a transparent, electrically-conductive solid material is provided, typically a coating. The method comprises: (i) Providing a liquid composition comprising a matrix-forming material and a plurality of metal nanowires, and optionally a carrier liquid in which the matrix-forming material and the plurality of metal nanowires may be dispersed; and (ii) Forming the solid material from the liquid composition. A solid material, typically in the form of a coating, provided by such a method is also described.

In a conductive film forming method using photo sintering, a conductive film having low electric resistance is easily formed. Disclosed is a conductive film forming method in which a conductive film is formed using a photo sintering, which includes the steps of: forming a liquid film made of a copper particulate dispersion on a substrate, drying the liquid film to form a copper particulate layer, subjecting the copper particulate layer to photo sintering to form a conductive film, attaching a sintering promoter to the conductive film, and further subjecting the conductive film having the sintering promoter attached to photo sintering. The sintering promoter is a compound which removes copper oxide from metallic copper. Thereby, the sintering promoter removes a surface oxide film of copper particulates in the conductive film.

A method of forming a flexible circuit, including providing a flexible flat cable with a first surface and a second surface. The first surface of the flexible flat cable is diametrically opposed to the second surface. A dispensing apparatus including a nozzle is further provided, and an extruded material is dispensed through the nozzle onto the first surface of the flexible flat cable. The extruded material is shaped into a pattern and cured onto the first surface of the flexible flat cable.

A method for rejuvenating a strand-blocked cable having a conductor comprised of a plurality of conductor strands with interstitial volume therebetween blocked by a PIB based strand-block mastic, the conductor being surrounded by a polymeric cable insulation. The method including pre-injection of compressed gas into the conductor strands of the cable at a pressure less than the elastic limit of the cable insulation, and injection of a rejuvenation fluid into the conductor strands of the cable at a pressure less than the elastic limit of the cable insulation.

Provided are methods and systems for forming piezoelectric coatings on power line cables using sol-gel materials. A cable may be fed through a container with a sol-gel material having a piezoelectric material to form an uncured layer on the surface of the cable. The layer is then cured using, for example, infrared, ultraviolet, and/or other types of radiation. The cable may be suspended in a coating system such that the uncured layer does not touch any components of the system until the layer is adequately cured. Piezoelectric characteristics of the cured layer may be tested in the system to provide a control feedback. The cured layer, which may be referred to as a piezoelectric coating, causes resistive heating at the outer surface of the cable during vibration of the cable due transmission of alternating currents and environmental factors.

A conductor includes a conductive structure and a dopant. The conductive structure has a predetermined shape and includes a carbon material having conductivity. The dopant causes the carbon material to generate an electric charge. The dopant includes a trifluoromethanesulfonate that is composed of a trivalent ion of a lanthanide and triflate anions.

A cable assembly includes a number of wires, a covering layer, a braiding layer and a fixing block. Each wire includes a core for conducting electricity and an insulating layer wrapped on the core. The covering layer is wrapped on the plurality of wires. The braiding layer is wrapped on the covering layer. The fixing block is injection-molded on the braiding layer. A material of the fixing block at least partially penetrates into the braiding layer so as to integrate the braiding layer and the covering layer as a whole. With such arrangement, the structural reliability of the cable assembly of the present disclosure is relatively high. A cable connector having the cable assembly and a method of manufacturing the cable assembly are also disclosed.

The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for forming an oriented nanowire material as well as a method for forming a conductive structure, which can be used to solve the problem of imperfect process for forming oriented nanowire material in prior art. The method for forming an oriented nanowire material of the present invention comprises: forming a liquid film in a closed frame by a dispersion containing nanowires; expanding the closed frame in a first direction so that the liquid film expands in the first direction along with the closed frame; contracting the closed frame in the first direction so that the liquid film contracts in the first direction along with the closed frame; transferring the contracted liquid film to a substrate; and curing the liquid film to form an oriented nanowire material on the substrate.