Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry

Masahiro Furuya

A multifunctional material having a carbon-doped titanium oxide layer, which has carbon doped in the state of Ti&#x2014;C bonds, is excellent in durability (high hardness, scratch resistance, wear resistance, chemical resistance, heat resistance) and functions as a visible light responding photocatalyst, is provided. The multifunctional material of the present invention is obtained, for example, by heat-treating the surface of a substrate, which has at least a surface layer comprising titanium, a titanium alloy, a titanium alloy oxide, or titanium oxide, in a combustion gas atmosphere of a gas consisting essentially of a hydrocarbon such that the surface temperature of the substrate is 900 to 1,500&#xb0; C.; or by directly striking a combustion flame of a gas consisting essentially of a hydrocarbon, against the surface of the substrate for heat treatment such that the surface temperature of the substrate is 900 to 1,500&#xb0; C.

Multifunctional material having carbon-doped titanium oxide layer

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for producing fine particles. According to the production method, a molten materialwhich has been formed by melting a raw material to be formed into fine particles is supplied in the form of dropletsor a jet flow to a liquid coolant, and a vapor film formed so as to cover the molten material supplied to the liquid coolantis forcedly broken to promote vapor explosion, thereby forming and cooling fine particles for solidification. The production method and apparatus can readily produce fine particles from a raw material having a high melting point, and can relatively readily produce submicron fine particles&#x2014;such particles are difficult to produce by mean of the previously developed technique. The method and apparatus can produce amorphous fine particles, or polycrystalline fine particles having a target particle size by regulating conditions for fine particle formation and for cooling-solidification.

Method and apparatus for producing fine particles

Method for producing a multifunctional material includes thermally treating a substrate having a surface layer formed of titanium, titanium oxide, a titanium alloy, or a titanium alloy oxide so that the temperature of the surface layer is raised to 600&#xb0; C. or higher, to thereby provide, in the interior of the surface layer, a second layer formed of forest microcolumns of titanium oxide or a titanium alloy oxide; and subsequently cutting the second layer in parallel with the surface layer, to yield a material including the substrate and a layer formed of titanium-oxide- or titanium-alloy-oxide-formed forest microcolumns exposed on at least a portion of the substrate, as well as a material including a thin film, numerous continuous small-width with protrusions thereon, and forest microcolumns formed on the protrusions.

Process for producing multifunctional material

The multifunctional material can readily adsorb even VOCs, which exhibits high photocatalytic activity and functions as visible-light-responsive photocatalyst by virtue of a large surface area and of being doped with carbon, has high hardness and exhibits excellent exfoliation resistance, wear resistance, resistance to chemicals, and heat resistance. The multifunctional material has a large number of protrusions of titanium oxide or a titanium alloy oxide on at least a portion of a surface of the material for example forest microcolumns of titanium oxide, the layer being exposed on the surface and the microcolumns being doped with carbon.

Multifunctional material

A method for producing a substrate having a carbon-doped titanium oxide layer, which is excellent in durability (high hardness, scratch resistance, wear resistance, chemical resistance, heat resistance) and functions as a visible light responding photocatalyst, is provided. The surface of a substrate, which has at least a surface layer comprising titanium, a titanium alloy, a titanium alloy oxide, or titanium oxide, is heat-treated in a combustion gas atmosphere of a gas consisting essentially of a hydrocarbon, or in a gas atmosphere consisting essentially of a hydrocarbon, such that the surface temperature of the substrate is 900 to 1,500&#xb0; C.; or a combustion flame of a gas consisting essentially of a hydrocarbon, is directly struck against the surface of the substrate for heat treatment such that the surface temperature of the substrate is 900 to 1,500&#xb0; C., thereby forming a carbon-doped titanium oxide layer, whereby the substrate having the carbon-doped titanium oxide layer is obtained.

Method for producing substrate having carbon-doped titanium oxide layer

A method and apparatus are invented for producing an amorphous metal, which can readily realize amorphous metal fine particles of sub-micron order to 100 micron order including fine particles of several micrometer of a material from which an amorphous metal cannot be realized by conventional amorphous metal producing method and apparatus, with a high yield and an excellent extraction rate. A molten metal () is supplied into a liquid coolant (), boiling due to spontaneous-bubble nucleation is generated, the molten metal () is rapidly cooled while forming fine particles thereof by utilizing a pressure wave generated by this boiling, thereby obtaining an amorphous metal. This production method is realized by apparatus comprising: material supplying means (); a cooling section () which brings in the coolant () whose quantity is small and sufficient for cooling and solidifying the supplied molten metal (), and rapidly cools the molten metal () while forming fine particles thereof by utilizing a pressure wave generated by boiling due to spontaneous-bubble nucleation, thereby obtaining amorphous fine particles; and recovery means () for recovering amorphous metal fine particles from the coolant ().

Method for producing amorphous metal, method and apparatus for producing amorphous metal fine particles, and amorphous metal fine particles

A method and apparatus are invented for producing fine particles, which can readily realize the formation of fine particles of sub-&#x3bc;m order to 100 micron order as well as fine particles of several micrometer which cannot be realized by a conventional method and apparatus available for producing fine particles, and a large quantity of fine particles having the desired particle diameter can be obtained with a high yield. A molten material (), which is a molten raw material to be fragmented into fine particles, is supplied into a liquid coolant (), boiling due to spontaneous-bubble nucleation is generated, and the molten material () is cooled and solidified while forming fine particles thereof by utilizing a pressure wave generated by this boiling. This production method is realized by apparatus comprising: material supplying means (); a cooling section () which brings in the coolant () whose quantity is small and sufficient for cooling and solidifying the supplied molten material (), and cools and solidifies the molten material () while forming fine particles thereof by utilizing a pressure wave generated by boiling due to spontaneous-bubble nucleation; and recovery means () for recovering fine particles from the coolant ().

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Tokyo, Japan

Masahiro Furuya