A photo-electrochemical cell of an embodiment includes: a first electrode which has a transparent conductive film provided on a first surface of a photoelectric conversion layer; a first catalyst layer provided on the first electrode; a second electrode provided on a second surface of the photoelectric conversion layer; and a second catalyst layer provided on the second electrode. The first catalyst layer has a plurality of catalyst parts disposed on the first electrode and a transparent dielectric part disposed in a gap between the plurality of catalyst parts.

A photo-electrochemical cell of an embodiment includes: a first electrode which has a transparent conductive film provided on a first surface of a photoelectric conversion layer; a first catalyst layer provided on the first electrode; a second electrode provided on a second surface of the photoelectric conversion layer; and a second catalyst layer provided on the second electrode. The first catalyst layer has a plurality of catalyst parts disposed on the first electrode and a transparent dielectric part disposed in a gap between the plurality of catalyst parts.

A general method of manufacturing high strength ultrafine grained nanostructured carbon and carbide materials that combines densification of nanoparticles with heat treatments or other means of supplying energy to cause fusion of structures that interlink and weld the nanoparticles together. Coatings films, nanopaper, nanopaper laminates, fibers, and extended objects can be manufactured by applying the disclosed methods. The nanomaterials are useful for additive manufacturing of rapid prototyped objects. A variety of nanoparticle starting materials are divulged including but not limited to double walled carbon nanotubes, fluorinated graphene nanosheets, silicon nanowires, and boron nanoplatelets. Articles can be manufactured with spark plasma synthesis, capacitive discharge sintering, hot press apparatus and green bodies can be processed in furnaces. The nanomaterials and ultra high strength articles manufactured from them will have applications including laparoscopic instruments, structural composites, heat sinks, EMI shielding, ballistic protection and aerospace components.

A method for balancing a rotatable component is disclosed This method comprises and then plating the component to deposit a metal layer onto the component until the component is balanced. In addition, and alternative method for balancing a rotatable component is disclosed. This method comprises attaching a balancing weight to the rotatable component and rotating the component. This is followed by plating the component and the balancing weight to deposit a metal layer onto the balancing weight and the component until the component is balanced.

The invention relates to a process for coating plastics or plastic surfaces with metals, especially plastics composed of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene copolymers (ABS) and composed of mixtures of these copolymers with other plastics (e.g. ABS blends), wherein the process comprises the pretreatment of the plastic surfaces with a composition C (etch solution) comprising at least two different ionic liquids IL1 and IL2.

This invention relates to a conductive-coating bath comprising an aqueous solution containing (A) a copper compound, (B) a complexing agent, (C) an alkali metal hydroxide, (D) a C.sub.2-5 aliphatic polyalcohol compound, and (E) at least one compound selected from the group consisting of reducing compounds having a COOM group, wherein M is hydrogen, an alkali metal, or a NH.sub.4 group, and reducing saccharides having six or more carbon atoms. The present invention provides a composition for forming a conductive coating having excellent properties as a base layer for electroplating, which is effectively used to form a uniform decorative coating having excellent appearance by electroplating on a non-conductive plastic molding.

Nanoparticle(NP)-decorated carbon nanotube (CNT) ropes used as sensing elements for hydrogen gas (H.sub.2) chemiresistors are described herein. The NP-decorated CNT rope sensors were prepared by dielectrophoretic deposition of a single semiconducting CNT rope followed by the electrodeposition of metal nanoparticles to highly disperse said nanoparticles on the CNT surfaces. The rope sensors produced a relative resistance change 20-30 times larger than what was observed at single, pure Pd nanowires. Thus, the rope sensors improved upon all H.sub.2 sensing metrics (speed, dynamic range, and limit-of-detection) relative to single Pd nanowires.

A plated fiber that is obtained by applying a metal plating onto a fiber having an elongation percentage which is more than or equal to 1% and less than or equal to 10%. An elongation percentage of the metal plating is higher than the elongation percentage of the fiber. A carbon fiber wherein the surface oxygen amount as a value obtained by dividing an O.sub.1S peak intensity measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy by a C.sub.1S peak intensity measured by the spectroscopy is more than or equal to 0.097 and less than or equal to 0.138.

Provided is a method of producing a plating deposit which enables the production of a plating deposit with good adhesion to a glass substrate. Included is a method of producing a plating deposit, which includes: (1) forming a metal oxide layer on a surface of a glass substrate; (2) performing a first heat treatment after the step (1); (3) forming an electroless copper plating deposit on the metal oxide layer after the step (2); (4) performing a second heat treatment after the step (3); and (5) forming an electrolytic copper plating deposit on the electroless copper plating deposit after the step (4).

Provided is a method of producing a plating deposit which enables the production of a plating deposit with good adhesion to a glass substrate. Included is a method of producing a plating deposit, which includes: (1) forming a metal oxide layer on a surface of a glass substrate; (2) performing a first heat treatment after the step (1); (3) forming an electroless copper plating deposit on the metal oxide layer after the step (2); (4) performing a second heat treatment after the step (3); and (5) forming an electrolytic copper plating deposit on the electroless copper plating deposit after the step (4).