The present invention addresses a problem of providing, for example, a metal surface treatment agent capable of forming a coating film that exhibits good corrosion resistance at edges, such as cut portions, of a coated metal material. The problem is solved by a metal surface treatment agent comprising: an ion (A) containing at least one kind of metal selected from zirconium, titanium and hafnium at a metal-equivalent molar concentration of 0.1 mmol/L or higher; and an aqueous urethane resin (B) having a weight-average molecular weight of 50,000 or higher at a solid mass concentration of 0.5 to 10 g/L, in which the ratio of a solid mass (B.sub.M) of the resin (B) to a metal-equivalent mass (A.sub.M) of the ion (A), [B.sub.M/A.sub.M], is 0.7 or higher.

An adhesion promoter for non-conductive surfaces is disclosed that combines a polyolefin with co-resins in a colloidal suspension in water. The colloidal suspension in water is prepared from mixing a solid-powder composition that includes the polyolefin and the co-resins with water. The colloidal suspension in water is applied to a low surface energy, non-conductive substrate, such as thermoplastic olefins, in order to make the substrates conductive for electrostatic painting.

Cathodically depositable electrocoat materials comprising basic bismuth nitrate, further comprising at least one binder having reactive functional groups and at least one crosslinker containing the complementary reactive functional groups which are able to enter into thermal crosslinking reactions.

According to the invention, an electrophoretic dispersion liquid includes at least one type of an electrophoretic particle, and a dispersion medium, in which the content of transition metal of group 8 elements derived from a catalyst which is used to generate at least one of a block copolymer (a particle surface treatment agent) used to form the electrophoretic particle and the dispersion medium is in a range of greater than 0 ppm to equal to or less than 2 ppm in the electrophoretic dispersion liquid.

The technology concerns methods for stabilizing slurries and/or electrophoretic deposition (EPD) bath suspensions for the preparation of electrodes and/or separation area or any other coating and specifically, to electrodes and separators for use in energy storage devices.

The technology concerns methods for stabilizing slurries and/or electrophoretic deposition (EPD) bath suspensions for the preparation of electrodes and/or separation area or any other coating and specifically, to electrodes and separators for use in energy storage devices.

Disclosed is a method for surface treatment of an object, the method including the following steps: applying a surface layer on the object by electrodeposition of the object in a liquid bath; and forming the surface layer as a result of the bath containing at least an electrodeposition coating material and a conductive material. Furthermore, the method includes: providing the conductive material in the form of a carbon-based compound which is configured as a protective barrier covering generally the entire surface of the object. Also disclosed is an object including a surface layer which is applied in accordance with the above-mentioned method.

Disclosed is a method for surface treatment of an object, the method including the following steps: applying a surface layer on the object by electrodeposition of the object in a liquid bath; and forming the surface layer as a result of the bath containing at least an electrodeposition coating material and a conductive material. Furthermore, the method includes: providing the conductive material in the form of a carbon-based compound which is configured as a protective barrier covering generally the entire surface of the object. Also disclosed is an object including a surface layer which is applied in accordance with the above-mentioned method.

A crosslinking composition includes a compound having at least two functional groups that are each independently represented by Chemical Structure (I):

##STR00001##

X is an oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen; R.sup.1 is an alkyl group, an aryl group, or an alkylaryl group; R.sup.2, R.sup.3, and R.sup.4 are each independently an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkylaryl group, or a hydrogen; R.sup.5 is an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkylaryl group, or a hydrogen; z is 0 when X is oxygen or sulfur and z is 1 when X is nitrogen; and when a double bond is formed between a carbon atom bonded to R.sup.3 and an adjacent nitrogen, m is 0, and when a single bond is formed between the carbon atom bonded to R.sup.3 and the adjacent nitrogen, m is 1.

The method of covalently bonding carbon nanotubes to substrates is provided. The method comprises functionalizing a substrate and each open-end of a plurality of open-ended carbon nanotubes, embedding each of the plurality of open-ended carbon nanotubes within respective polymers, aligning, orthogonally, the plurality of open-ended carbon nanotubes relative to the substrate, and applying pressure on each of the plurality of open-ended carbon nanotubes relative to the substrate for enabling covalent bonding of each of the plurality of open-ended carbon nanotubes to the substrate.