A method for producing a thermoelectric material, comprising: mixing an Sn powder and a powder containing a first dopant element to obtain a first mixed raw material, heating the first mixed raw material at a temperature allowing for mutual diffusion of Sn and the first dopant element to obtain a first aggregate, pulverizing the first aggregate to obtain a first powder, mixing an Mg powder, an Si powder, and the first powder to obtain a second mixed raw material, heating the second mixed raw material at a temperature allowing for mutual diffusion of Mg, Si, Sn and the first dopant element to obtain a second aggregate, pulverizing the second aggregate to obtain a second powder, and pressure-sintering the second powder, and wherein the first dopant element is one or more elements selected from Al, Ag, As, Bi, Cu, Sb, Zn, P, and B.

Disclosed are methods of making porous zinc electrodes. Taken together, the steps are: forming a mixture of water, a soluble compound that increases the viscosity of the mixture, an insoluble porogen, and metallic zinc powder; placing the mixture in a mold to form a sponge; optionally drying the sponge; placing the sponge in a metal mesh positioned to allow air flow through substantially all the openings in the mesh; heating the sponge in an inert atmosphere at a peak temperature of 200 to 420° C. to fuse the zinc particles to each other to form a sintered sponge; and heating the sintered sponge in an oxygen-containing atmosphere at a peak temperature of 420 to 700° C. to form ZnO on the surfaces of the sintered sponge. The heating steps burn out the porogen.

A sintered sliding material with excellent corrosion resistance, heat resistance, and wear resistance is provided. The sintered sliding material has a composition made of: 36-86 mass % of Ni; 1-11 mass % of Sn; 0.05-1.0 mass % of P; 1-9 mass % of C; and the Cu balance including inevitable impurities. The sintered sliding material is made of a sintered material of a plurality of grains of alloy of Ni—Cu alloy or Cu—Ni alloy, the Ni—Cu alloy and the Cu—Ni alloy containing Sn, P, C, and Si; has a structure in which pores are dispersedly formed in grain boundaries of the plurality of the grains of alloy; and as inevitable impurities in a matrix constituted from the grains of alloy, a C content is 0.6 mass % or less and a Si content is 0.15 mass % or less.

Aiming at providing a metal particle, an electro-conductive paste, a formed article, and a laminated article that are able to form a highly reliable and high-quality electric interconnect, an electro-conductive bonding portion, or a three-dimensional structure that is less likely to produce the Kirkendall void, this invention discloses a metal particle which include an outer shell and a core part, the outer shell including an intermetallic compound and covering the core part.

A solder-coated ball (10A) includes a spherical core containing Ni and P; and a solder layer (12) formed to coat the core (11). A solder-coated ball (10B) further includes a Cu plating layer (13) formed between the core (11) and the solder layer (12). A solder-coated ball (10C) further includes an Ni plating layer (14) formed between the Cu plating layer (13) and the solder layer (12).

An electrode, a preparation method therefor, and uses thereof. Titanium or titanium alloy is used as a base material of the electrode, the outer surface of the base material is coated with a composite material coating, and the composite material coating is prepared by coating a composite material solution and carrying out drying and sintering. The composite material solution is a nanoscale solution formed by dissolving transition metal elements in ethanol. The nanoscale solution is an ethanol solution of the nanoscale transition metal with particles of the transition metal as solutes thereof. The transition metal elements are platinum, iridium, ruthenium, gold, cerium, rhodium, tantalum, manganese, nickel, palladium, yttrium, gadolinium, cobalt, europium, lanthanum, neodymium, zirconium and titanium, and the molar ratio of the transition metal elements platinum, iridium, ruthenium, gold, cerium, rhodium, tantalum, manganese, nickel, palladium, yttrium, gadolinium, cobalt, europium, lanthanum, neodymium, zirconium and titanium in the composite material solution is 5-15:23-34:14-21:1-7:9-17:3-12:15-27:3-6:2-9:10-23:15-27:2-8:15-30:3-12:4-14:1-10:6-15:20-50.

Provided are processes for preparing a thermodynamically stable PtBi.sub.2 alloy nanoparticle. In certain aspects, the process comprises preparing an aqueous mixture, with the aqueous mixture comprising: an inorganic compound comprising SnCl.sub.2; an inorganic compound comprising Bi; and HCl. The process further comprises adding PtCl.sub.4 to the mixture. The process results in the spontaneous reduction of Bi and Pt. Excess SnCl.sub.2 is adsorbed as a ligand at the surface of the PtB.sub.2 alloy nanoparticle, which serves to stabilize the nanoparticle. Another aspect provides a thermodynamically stable PtBi.sub.2 nanoparticle. The nanoparticle comprises a core comprising a PtBi.sub.2 alloy. The nanoparticle further comprises a shell at least partially encapsulating the core, with the shell comprising stannous chloride. The thermodynamically stable PtB.sub.2 nanoparticle has a negative charge.

A Cu core ball and a method of manufacturing such a Cu core ball. Purity of the Cu internal ball is at least 99.9% and not greater than 99.995%. A total contained amount of Pb and/or Bi in impurity contained in the Cu ball is equal to or larger than 1 ppm. Its sphericity is at least 0.95. A solder plating film coated on the Cu ball is of Sn solder or a lead free solder alloy whose primary component is Sn. In the solder plating film, a contained amount of U is not more than 5 ppb and that of Th is not more than 5 ppb. A total alpha dose of the Cu ball and the solder plating film is not more than 0./0200 cph/cm2. An arithmetic average roughness of the Cu core ball is equal to or less than 0.3 μm.

Aspects relate to method of zinc-comprising nanowire fabrication, the method comprising forming a starting material comprising zinc metal or zinc metal alloy and at least one reactive metal, and exposing the starting material to one or more alcohols to obtain a reaction product comprising zinc-comprising nanowires, wherein the at least one reactive metal is more reactive than zinc to the one or more alcohols.

To provide a Ni ball having a low α dose and high sphericity even when it contains impurity elements other than Ni in certain amounts. The Ni ball contains an element U, a content thereof being 5 ppb or less, and an element Th, a content thereof being 5 ppb or less, wherein a purity of the Ni ball is 99.9% or more but 99.995% or less, an α dose thereof is 0.0200 cph/cm.sup.2 or less, a content of either Pb or Bi, or a total content of both Pb and Bi is 1 ppm or more, and a sphericity thereof is 0.90 or more, in order to prevent any software errors and reduce connection failure.