A method for preparing a hydrogel includes forming a pre-gel comprising polymer and metal salt particles, unidirectionally-shrinking and dehydrating the pre-gel, and impregnating the unidirectionally shrunk and dehydrated pre-gel with an ion solution to crosslink and rehydrate the unidirectionally shrunk and dehydrated pre-gel to produce the hydrogel.

UV-curable glass fiber sizing compositions, glass fibers sized with a UV-curable sizing composition, sizing methods, and composites comprising such UV-curable sized glass fibers are disclosed.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a metallized open-cell foam or fibrous substrate, wherein the method comprises: (A) providing an open-cell foam or fibrous substrate, wherein the open-cell foam or fibrous substrate contains a polymer comprising heteroatom-containing moieties within the bulk of the open-cell foam or fibrous substrate or as a coating on the open-cell foam or fibrous substrate, wherein the polymer comprising heteroatom-containing moieties is selected from polyvinylpyridine, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyallylamine, polyethylene oxide, polyethylene imine, polyethylene sulfide and copolymers or blends thereof; (B) contacting the open-cell foam or fibrous substrate with nanoparticles of a first metal to provide a nanoparticle coated open-cell foam or fibrous substrate; and (C) contacting the nanoparticle coated open-cell foam or fibrous substrate with a solution comprising a salt of a second metal and a reducing agent to provide the metallized open-cell foam or fibrous substrate having a layer of the second metal on the nanoparticle coated open-cell foam or fibrous substrate.

A manufacturing method of a resin sheet that is capable of being deformed, covering a front surface of a substrate, and protecting the substrate and that is capable of curing by being given energy from the external includes a liquid resin disposing step of disposing a liquid resin capable of curing by being given the energy from the external on a flat surface and a surface curing step of forming a resin coat layer through curing only an outer circumferential surface of the liquid resin by giving the energy with such intensity that the whole of the liquid resin does not cure to the liquid resin from the external and leaving the liquid resin that is not cured inside the resin coat layer.

The invention relates to a polymer composition comprising a polyamide or polyester carrier polymer matrix in which special polymer particles are embedded, to a process for the preparation of this polymer composition, to the use thereof as laser inscription additive or laser welding additive in organic polymer compositions, and to a laser-inscribable or laser-weldable organic polymer composition comprising this polymer composition.