Disclosed is a microcapsule comprising: (i) a core comprising a benefit agent; and (ii) a shell comprising silica; wherein said shell comprises plate-like inorganic materials having an average thickness of 1-1000 nm; wherein said benefit agent is fragrance, pro-fragrance, hair conditioning agent, anti-dandruff agent, moisturizers, emollients, dyes and/or pigments, colour care additives (including dye fixing agents), or a mixture thereof.

A coated powder comprises (a) particles, and (b) a coating on the surface of the particles including (1) silica moieties, (2) organo oxysilane moieties selected from the group consisting of mono-organo oxysilane moieties, bi-organo oxysilane moieties and tri-organo oxysilane moieties, and (3) poly(dialkyl)siloxane moieties. The amount by weight in SiO.sub.2 equivalents of the organo oxysilane moieties and the silica moieties is at least 0.0625% of the total coated powder weight per m.sup.2/g of the specific surface area of the particle to be coated.

The invention provides a droplet encapsulate comprising: a drop of a hydrophobic medium; a peripheral layer of non-polymeric amphipathic molecules around the surface of the drop; and an aqueous droplet within the peripheral layer, the aqueous droplet comprising: (a) an aqueous medium and (b) an outer layer of non-polymeric amphipathic molecules around the surface of the aqueous medium. The invention also provides processes for preparing the droplet encapsulates. Various uses of the droplet encapsulates are also described, including their use as drug delivery vehicles, in synthetic biology, and in the study of membrane proteins.

A coated powder comprises (a) particles, and (b) a coating on the surface of the particles including (1) silica moieties, (2) organo oxysilane moieties selected from the group consisting of mono-organo oxysilane moieties, bi-organo oxysilane moieties and tri-organo oxysilane moieties, and (3) poly(dialkyl)siloxane moieties. The amount by weight in SiO.sub.2 equivalents of the organo oxysilane moieties and the silica moieties is at least 0.0625% of the total coated powder weight per m.sup.2/g of the specific surface area of the particle to be coated.

A composite nanomaterial of ZnO impregnated by, e.g., a green copper phthalocyanine compound (CuPc) can be an efficient solar light photocatalyst for water remediation. The composite may include hollow shell microspheres and hollow nanospheres of CuPc-ZnO. CuPc may function as a templating and/or structure modifying agent, e.g., for forming hollow microspheres and/or nanospheres of ZnO particles. The composite can photocatalyze the degradation of organic pollutants such as crystal violet (CV) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid as well as microbes in water under solar light irradiation. The ZnO—CuPc composite can be stable and recyclable under solar irradiation.

A method of producing an organic pigment composition including at least organic pigment microparticles, wherein a diffuse reflectance of the organic pigment microparticles is controlled for the purpose of improving a luminance of a color filter. The luminance of the color filter is controlled to be high, by controlling a ratio of an area of the diffuse reflectance in a target wavelength range to a total area of the diffuse reflectance in the entire measurement wavelength range in a diffuse reflection spectrum of the organic pigment microparticles in the wavelength range of 380 to 780 nm, to be high. The luminance of the color filter is controlled to be high, by coating at least a part of the surface of the organic pigment microparticles with an oxide.

A composite nanomaterial of ZnO impregnated by, e.g., a green copper phthalocyanine compound (CuPc) can be an efficient solar light photocatalyst for water remediation. The composite may include hollow shell microspheres and hollow nanospheres of CuPc-ZnO. CuPc may function as a templating and/or structure modifying agent, e.g., for forming hollow microspheres and/or nanospheres of ZnO particles. The composite can photocatalyze the degradation of organic pollutants such as crystal violet (CV) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid as well as microbes in water under solar light irradiation. The ZnO—CuPc composite can be stable and recyclable under solar irradiation.

Novel reaction media for electron donating and electron accepting components in colour-change compositions are described. The compound is of formula (VI); R.sub.1, and R.sub.2 are independently selected from an optionally substituted linear or branched alkyl group, alkenyl group, alkoxy group, aryl group and an alkylene aryl group having from 5 to 22 carbon atoms; X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 are independently selected from —OC(O)—, —CO.sub.2— and O; Y.sub.1, and Y.sub.2 are independently selected from hydrogen, halogen, R.sub.1, —OR.sub.1; y is independently 0 or 1; and suitably the groups R.sub.1X.sub.1— and —X.sub.2R.sub.2 are independently in the ortho or meta position. The compounds are useful in ink compositions, writing implements containing the compound and medical and industrial applications in which temperature sensitive colour change may be required. ##STR00001##

The application discloses a method for preparing a nano-quantum dot, a nano-quantum dot material, the application thereof and a quantum dot article, and relates to the technical field of quantum dot material preparation. The method for preparing the nano-quantum dot includes the following steps: rapidly solidifying a high-temperature melt in which a carrier corresponding to a target product ion/atomic group/molecular group is dissolved to obtain a carrier in which the target product nano-quantum dot is embedded. The nano-quantum dot material is prepared by using the method. The nano-quantum dot material is applied to the fields of luminescent devices, optical biological marks, disease detection, semiconductors or photoelectricity. Moreover, a quantum dot article containing the nano-quantum dot material is provided.

An “inverse” precipitation route to precipitate aqueous soluble species with copolymers as nanoparticles having a hydrophilic, polar core and a less polar shell is described.