The successful fabrication of alloy foam (or porous alloy) is very rare, despite their potentially better properties and wider applicability than pure metallic foams. The processing of three-dimensional copper-nickel alloy foams is achieved through a strategic solid-solution alloying method based on oxide powder reduction or sintering processes, or both. Solid-solution alloy foams with five different compositions are successfully created, resulting in open-pore structures with varied porosity. The corrosion resistance of the synthesized copper-nickel alloy foams is superior to those of the pure copper and nickel foams.

A carbon-coated metal powder having few impurities, a narrower particle size distribution, and sintering properties is particularly suitable as a conductive powder of a conductive paste for forming internal conductors in a ceramic multilayer electronic component obtained by co-firing multilayered ceramic sheets and internal conductor layers; a conductive paste containing the carbon-coated metal powder; a multilayer electronic component using the conductive paste; and a method for manufacturing the carbon-coated metal powder. The carbon-coated metal powder has specific properties in TMA or ESCA measurements. The carbon-coated metal powder can be obtained by melting and vaporizing a metallic raw material in a reaction vessel, conveying the generated metal vapor into a cooling tube and rapidly cooling the metal vapor by endothermically decomposing a carbon source supplied into the cooling tube, and forming a carbon coating film on metal nuclei surfaces in parallel with generation of the metal nuclei.

An object is to provide a composite plating film excellent in the water-repellent property and oil-repellent property using a material that is less likely to accumulate in the environment, as substitute for a fluorine resin. A composite plating film is provided which includes an alloy matrix phase and a silicone dispersed in the alloy matrix phase. In the composite plating film, the silicone preferably has Hansen solubility parameters comprising a dispersion term .sub.D of 15 MPa.sup.1/2 or less, a polar term .sub.P of 3 MPa.sup.1/2 or less, and a hydrogen bonding term .sub.H of 3 MPa.sup.1/2 or less. The silicone preferably has an interaction radius of a Hansen solubility sphere of 5.0 MPa.sup.1/2 or less.

The present disclosure concerns a process for the removal of Cu and Fe from an acidic aqueous solution further containing one or more of Ni and Co, comprising the steps of: adding a metallic reagent comprising one or more of Ni and Co to the acidic solution, in oxidizing conditions, thereby neutralizing the acidic solution, and forming a precipitate comprising Cu and Fe, wherein at least part of the Cu and Fe is in the form of a hydroxide; and, separating the Cu and Fe precipitate from the solution, thereby obtaining a solution depleted in Cu and Fe. The process drastically reduces the need for foreign neutralizing agents, thereby restricting or even completely avoiding the introduction of additional impurities into the process. It is advantageously applied on an acidic aqueous solution obtained by leaching materials having the same composition as the metallic reagent.

The invention relates to an electrode material, preferably an inert anode material comprising at least a metal core and a cermet material, characterized in that: said metal core contains at least one nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe) alloy, said cermet material comprises at least as percentages by weight: 45 to 80% of a nickel ferrite oxide phase (2) of composition Ni.sub.xFe.sub.yM.sub.zO.sub.4 with 0.60 x0.90; 1.90y2.40; 0.00z0.20 and M being a metal selected from aluminum (Al), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), tin (Sn), vanadium (V), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and hafnium (Hf) or being a combination of these metals, 15 to 45% of a metallic phase (1) comprising at least one alloy of nickel and copper.

Disclosed are electrical contact materials and a method for preparing the same. The electrical contact material includes (i) one or more kinds of metals selected from the group consisting of silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and gold (Au), and an alloy of nickel (Ni); and (ii) carbon nano tubes (CNTs) coated with Ag nanoparticles, Ag plated CNTs, or Ag nanowires, or (i) one or more kinds of metals selected from the group consisting of Ag, Cu, Ni and Au; (ii) a metal oxide that is cadmium oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide or mixture thereof; and (iii) CNTs coated with Ag nanoparticles, Ag plated CNTs, or Ag nanowires. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the content of high-priced Ag and to obtain excellent electrical and mechanical properties.

Disclosed is an electrode for a laser chamber comprising an alloy of a first metal having a first free energy of formation with fluorine greater than or equal to the free energy of formation with fluorine of copper, and a second metal having a second free energy of formation with fluorine less than the first free energy.