Disclosed herein are embodiments of methods, devices, and assemblies for processing feedstock materials using microwave plasma processing. Specifically, the feedstock materials disclosed herein pertains to scrap materials, dehydrogenated or non-hydrogenated feed material, recycled used powder, and gas atomized powders. Microwave plasma processing can be used to spheroidize and remove contaminants. Advantageously, microwave plasma processed feedstock can be used in various applications such as additive manufacturing or powdered metallurgy (PM) applications that require high powder flowability.

A method for producing a coloured metal-containing powder, which can be used as a metallic pigment, said method comprising: preparing a bulk metal-containing material in the form of powder (which acts as a particle substrate), which is a ferromanganese (FeMn) powder; and heating said material up to a temperature ranging from 100° C. to 1000° C. in a container, in the presence of oxygen. Preferably, the bulk powder is a refined FeMn powder. It is also an object of the disclosure the coloured metal-containing powder obtainable by means of the disclosed method, in the absence of surface modifiers, wherein it can have a blue, purple/violet and gold colour, or any intermediate tonality, depending on the metal oxide content. Said oxides are present forming an outer layer on the particles of the powder. The disclosure also refers to the use of the powder as a metallic pigment.

A method for producing a coloured metal-containing powder, which can be used as a metallic pigment, said method comprising: preparing a bulk metal-containing material in the form of powder (which acts as a particle substrate), which is a ferromanganese (FeMn) powder; and heating said material up to a temperature ranging from 100° C. to 1000° C. in a container, in the presence of oxygen. Preferably, the bulk powder is a refined FeMn powder. It is also an object of the disclosure the coloured metal-containing powder obtainable by means of the disclosed method, in the absence of surface modifiers, wherein it can have a blue, purple/violet and gold colour, or any intermediate tonality, depending on the metal oxide content. Said oxides are present forming an outer layer on the particles of the powder. The disclosure also refers to the use of the powder as a metallic pigment.

Provided is a copper alloy powder which is a metal powder to be used for additive manufacturing by a laser beam system, and which is able to achieve a higher laser absorption rate and additionally suppress heat transfer through necking, and a method for producing this copper alloy powder. A copper alloy powder which contains one or more elements selected from among Cr, Zr and Nb in a total amount of 15 wt % or less, with a balance being made up of Cu and unavoidable impurities, and which is characterized in that a coating film containing Si atoms is formed on the copper alloy powder, and a Si concentration in the copper alloy powder with the coating film is 5 wt ppm or more and 700 wt ppm or less.

Provided is a copper alloy powder which is a metal powder to be used for additive manufacturing by a laser beam system, and which is able to achieve a higher laser absorption rate and additionally suppress heat transfer through necking, and a method for producing this copper alloy powder. A copper alloy powder which contains one or more elements selected from among Cr, Zr and Nb in a total amount of 15 wt % or less, with a balance being made up of Cu and unavoidable impurities, and which is characterized in that a coating film containing Si atoms is formed on the copper alloy powder, and a Si concentration in the copper alloy powder with the coating film is 5 wt ppm or more and 700 wt ppm or less.

Proposed is an iridium alloy catalyst having reversible catalytic activity for an oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and a hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) by including an iridium alloy including iridium (Ir) and nickel (Ni). The iridium alloy catalyst according to the present disclosure is rapidly converted to an iridium alloy catalyst in an oxide form and an iridium alloy catalyst in a metallic form according to applied voltage by controlling its crystallinity. Thus, even in case an oxide layer is formed after the OER, the oxidation layer disappears during the HER and HOR and the properties of an iridium metal catalyst remain, thereby maintaining HER/HOR performance.

Proposed is an iridium alloy catalyst having reversible catalytic activity for an oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and a hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) by including an iridium alloy including iridium (Ir) and nickel (Ni). The iridium alloy catalyst according to the present disclosure is rapidly converted to an iridium alloy catalyst in an oxide form and an iridium alloy catalyst in a metallic form according to applied voltage by controlling its crystallinity. Thus, even in case an oxide layer is formed after the OER, the oxidation layer disappears during the HER and HOR and the properties of an iridium metal catalyst remain, thereby maintaining HER/HOR performance.

A metal powder for powder metallurgy contains Co as a principal component, Cr at 16 mass % or more and 35 mass % or less, and Si at 0.3 mass % or more and 2.0 mass % or less, wherein when one element selected from Ti, V, Y, Zr, Nb, Hf, and Ta is a first element, and one element selected from the group and having a higher group number in the periodic table than that of the first element or having the same group number in the periodic table as that of the first element and a higher period number than that of the first element is a second element, the first element is at 0.01 mass % or more and 0.5 mass % or less, and the second element is at 0.01 mass % or more and 0.5 mass % or less.

A metal powder for powder metallurgy contains Co as a principal component, Cr at 16 mass % or more and 35 mass % or less, and Si at 0.3 mass % or more and 2.0 mass % or less, wherein when one element selected from Ti, V, Y, Zr, Nb, Hf, and Ta is a first element, and one element selected from the group and having a higher group number in the periodic table than that of the first element or having the same group number in the periodic table as that of the first element and a higher period number than that of the first element is a second element, the first element is at 0.01 mass % or more and 0.5 mass % or less, and the second element is at 0.01 mass % or more and 0.5 mass % or less.

An improved atomized powder metal material containing an increased amount of free graphite after heat treatment and/or sintering is provided. The powder metal material is typically a ferrous alloy and includes carbon in an amount of 1.0 wt. % to 6.5 wt. % and silicon in an amount of 0.1 wt. % to 6.0 wt. %, based on the total weight of the powder metal material. The powder metal material can also include various other alloying elements, for example at least one of nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), tin (Sn), aluminum (Al), sulfur (S), phosphorous (P), boron (B), nitrogen (N), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), vanadium (V), niobium (Nb), tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta) zirconium (Zr), zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), calcium (Ca), barium (Ba) magnesium (Mg), lithium (Li), sodium (Na), and potassium (K).