A process is provided for the preparation of lacing resistant, titanium dioxide particles for use in photodurable thin film production. Said process involves dewatering titanium dioxide particles that have been encapsulated with a layer of amorphous alumina in continuous fashion at temperatures in excess of 100 C.

A novel polymer comprising a water soluble polymer backbone, at least one functional group attached to the polymer backbone and having an affinity for titanium dioxide, and at least one hydrophobic functional group attached to the polymer backbone and having an affinity for latex is provided. A titanium dioxide pigment composition including the novel polymer is also provided. Also provided is a method of manufacturing a titanium dioxide pigment composition that includes the novel polymer.

A process is provided for the preparation of lacing resistant, titanium dioxide particles for use in photodurable thin film production. Said process involves dewatering titanium dioxide particles that have been encapsulated with a layer of amorphous alumina in continuous fashion at temperatures in excess of 100 C.

A method of treating particulate titanium dioxide includes providing the particulate titanium dioxide which includes a crystal structure and then treating the particulate titanium dioxide with a coating agent that is an alkylphosphonic acid or an ester thereof, and steam micronizing the particulate titanium dioxide with a steam micronizer so that a vapor exit temperature from the steam micronizer is 150? C. or higher, so as to obtain a micronized particulate titanium dioxide which includes the coating agent at an outer surface. The particulate titanium dioxide includes an aluminum oxide coating and/or includes within the crystal structure aluminum oxide in a molar excess of an amount required to compensate any Nb.sub.2O.sub.5 in the crystal structure. The alkylphosphonic acid includes a C.sub.6-C.sub.22 alkyl group.

Disclosed are a glossy pigment having a hollow structure and a method for producing the same. The glossy pigment having a hollow structure according to the present invention comprises: a hollow which penetrates through the center of the inside thereof; and a metal oxide coating layer which covers a part or all of the hollow, wherein the metal oxide coating layer has a hollow structure having a thickness of 0.1-3 m.

Provided in one example herein is a liquid electrophotographic ink composition. The composition comprises: a carrier fluid comprising a polymer; ink particles each comprising a non-aqueous polymeric resin and pigment particles distributed in the polymeric resin; and a charge director. The pigment particles comprise a metal oxide and have a hydrophobic surface. The hydrophobic surface comprises at least one of the following: (i) nanoparticles attached to each of the pigment particles, the nanoparticles comprising at least one of an oxide, a phosphate, and a nitrate; (ii) a coating disposed over each of the pigment particles, the coating comprising at least one of an oxide, a phosphate, and a nitrate; and (iii) a coating disposed over each of the pigment particles, the coating comprising at least one of a polymer and an oligomer.

Methods are disclosed for producing an organic functionalized solid inorganic substrate, a surface of the inorganic substrate comprising a hydroxide and/or an oxide comprising an element M, the element M being a metal or a metalloid. The method includes drying the surface; optionally removing protons from the surface; and contacting the surface with an organometallic reagent comprising at least one organic functional moiety, thereby obtaining the organic functionalized inorganic substrate, the at least one organic functional moiety being attached to the element M of the hydroxide and/or the oxide by means of a direct M-C bond. The drying step includes contacting the surface with a flow comprising an inert gas. The organic functionalized inorganic substrate obtained by the method may be used as a membrane, a catalyst, a sorbent, a sensor or an electronic component, or as a substrate in filtration, adsorption, chromatography and/or separation processes.

A humidity sensitive material includes a lanthanum-doped barium titanate (BaTiO.sub.3) co-doped with an alkali hydroxide. A polymeric liquid binder is used as a vehicle to deliver the humidity sensitive material to a substrate or electrode via a 3D-printing process. The humidity sensitive material is highly sensitive to changes in humidity and exhibits rapid and large changes in capacitance and impedance for just a relatively small change in humidity. The humidity sensitive material exhibits significantly large changes in impedance and capacitance over the entire 10-90% RH range. As a result of the high sensitivity of the humidity sensitive material, the log-linear response is significantly easier to calibrate in humidity sensing devices that use the humidity sensitive material.

In order to provide pigment particles and coating compositions comprising them that are suitable for demanding industrial protective coatings and coatings in the automobile sector, a proposal is made for pigment particles having a surface coating for use in a stratifying coating composition, where the surface coating of the pigment particles is formed using an organic, amino-functional component, which in particular has two or more amino groups, and a reactive, silane-functional component different from the aforesaid component.

The invention provides an organic solvent dispersion of titanium oxide particles in a content of 10% by weight or more in an organic solvent except methanol and ethanol, wherein the titanium oxide particles are surface-treated with a surface treating agent comprising a silane coupling agent having the general formula (I)
(RO).sub.nSiX.sub.4-n(I)
wherein R is an alkyl group having carbon atoms of 1-4, n is 2 or 3, X is an alkyl, a fluoroalkyl, a vinyl or a (meth)acryloyloxyalkyl group, and 12-hydroxystearic acid, and wherein the titanium oxide particles in the organic solvent have a D50 in a range of 1 to 30 nm, and wherein the organic solvent dispersion has a transmittance of 2% or more at a wavelength of 500 nm and a transmittance of 70% or more at a wavelength of 800 nm, a viscosity of 10 mPa.Math.s or less at a temperature of 25 C. immediately after production while the increase in the viscosity is 40 mPa.Math.s or less seven days after production as compared to that of the dispersion immediately after production.