A lead-based alloy containing alloying additions of bismuth, antimony, arsenic, and tin is used for the production of doped leady oxides, lead-acid battery active materials, lead-acid battery electrodes, and lead-acid batteries.

Disclosed are a cold storage material and a cold storage type cryogenic refrigerator using same. The cold storage material is tin alloy particles, the content of tin in the tin alloy particle is not less than 40% and not more than 99%, and the cold storage material at least includes one component of bismuth, antimony, silver and gold. The cold storage type cryogenic refrigerator includes a cold storage device, and the cold storage material filled in the cold storage device is tin alloy particles, is lead-free, lowly toxic, easy in spherization and extremely accessible and has a relatively good thermal performance, has properties comparable to those of lead, and has a relatively good heat exchange performance when being used in a cold storage type refrigerator.

Some variations provide a method of making a nanofunctionalized metal powder, comprising: providing metal particles containing metals selected from iron, nickel, copper, titanium, magnesium, zinc, silicon, lithium, silver, chromium, manganese, vanadium, bismuth, gallium, or lead; providing nanoparticles selected from zirconium, tantalum, niobium, or titanium; disposing the nanoparticles onto surfaces of the metal particles, in the presence of mixing media, thereby generating nanofunctionalized metal particles; and isolating and recovering the nanofunctionalized metal particles as a nanofunctionalized metal powder. Some variations provide a composition comprising a nanofunctionalized metal powder, the composition comprising metal particles and nanoparticles containing one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zirconium, tantalum, niobium, titanium, and oxides, nitrides, hydrides, carbides, or borides thereof, or combinations of the foregoing.

A method for producing solder particles, which includes: a preparation step wherein a base material that has a plurality of recesses and solder fine particles are prepared; an accommodation step wherein at least some of the solder fine particles are accommodated in the recesses; and a fusing step wherein the solder fine particles accommodated in the recesses are fused, thereby forming solder particles within the recesses. With respect to this method for producing solder particles, the average particle diameter of the solder particles is from 1 μm to 30 μm; and the C.V. value of the solder particles is 20% or less.

A method of producing nano and micro sized particles having an anisotropic composition and/or morphology is provided. A composition distribution is on a surface or throughout a particle. The nano and micro sized particles are metal, inorganic, or combinations thereof; and the nano and micro sized particles are known as hard anisotropic particles.

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.

Provided herein is a composition for eutectic metal alloy nanoparticles having an average particle size ranging from about 0.5 nanometers to less than about 5000 nanometers and at least one organoamine stabilizer. Also provided herein is a process for preparing eutectic metal alloy nanoparticles comprising mixing at least one organic polar solvent, at least one organoamine stabilizer, and a eutectic metal alloy to create a mixture; sonicating the mixture at a temperature above the melting point of the eutectic metal alloy; and collecting a composition comprising a plurality of eutectic metal alloy nanoparticles having an average particle size ranging from about 0.5 nanometers to less than about 5000 nanometers. Further disclosed herein are hybrid conductive ink compositions comprising a component comprising a plurality of metal nanoparticles and a component comprising a plurality of eutectic metal alloy nanoparticles.

Some variations provide a method of making a nanofunctionalized metal powder, comprising: providing metal particles containing metals selected from iron, nickel, copper, titanium, magnesium, zinc, silicon, lithium, silver, chromium, manganese, vanadium, bismuth, gallium, or lead; providing nanoparticles selected from zirconium, tantalum, niobium, or titanium; disposing the nanoparticles onto surfaces of the metal particles, in the presence of mixing media, thereby generating nanofunctionalized metal particles; and isolating and recovering the nanofunctionalized metal particles as a nanofunctionalized metal powder. Some variations provide a composition comprising a nanofunctionalized metal powder, the composition comprising metal particles and nanoparticles containing one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zirconium, tantalum, niobium, titanium, and oxides, nitrides, hydrides, carbides, or borides thereof, or combinations of the foregoing.

The invention relates to a compacted and densified metal material having one or more phases formed of an agglomerate of grains, the cohesion of the material being provided by bridges formed between grains, said material having a relative density higher than or equal to 95% and preferably higher than or equal to 98%.

A metal particle for joint material includes an intermetallic compound crystal that contains Sn, Cu, Ni and Ge, in a basal phase that contains Sn and an Sn—Cu alloy, the metal particle having a chemical composition represented by 0.7 to 15% by mass of Cu, 0.1 to 5% by mass of Ni, 0.001 to 0.1% by mass of Ge and the balance of Sn, the basal phase having a chemical composition represented by 95 to 99.9% by mass of Sn, 5% by mass or less of Cu and 0.1% by mass or less of an inevitable impurity, the intermetallic compound crystal residing in the basal phase so as to be included therein, the metal particle having a particle size of 1 μm to 50 μm, the metal particle containing an orthorhombic crystal structure, and at least parts of the basal phase and the intermetallic compound crystal forming an endotaxial joint.