Abstract: A process for producing Ti, comprising a reduction step of reacting TiCl4 with Ca in a CaCl2-containing molten salt having the Ca dissolved therein to thereby form Ti particles, a separation step of separating the Ti particles formed in said molten salt from said molten salt and an electrolysis step of electrolyzing the molten salt so as to increase the Ca concentration, wherein the molten salt increased in Ca concentration in the electrolysis step is introduced into a regulating cell to thereby render the Ca concentration of the molten salt constant and thereafter the molten salt is used for the reduction of TiCl4 in the reduction step. In the present invention, the Ca concentration of the molten salt to be fed to the corresponding reduction vessel can be inhibited from fluctuating and, at the same time, can maintain high concentration levels. Further, a large volume of the molten salt can be treated continuously.

Abstract: A titanium oxide photocatalyst responsive to visible light which can exhibit a high photocatalytic activity in response to visible light is produced by subjecting titanium oxide and/or titanium hydroxide obtained by neutralizing an acidic titanium compound with a nitrogen-containing base to heat treatment in an atmosphere containing a hydrolyzable metal compound (e.g., a titanium halide) and then to additional heat treatment in a gas having a moisture content of 0.5-4.0 volume % at a temperature of 350° C. or above. The photocatalyst which is a nitrogen-containing titanium oxide has no substantial peak at a temperature of 600° C. or above in a mass fragment spectrum obtained by thermal desorption spectroscopy in which the ratio m/e of the mass number m to the electric charged e of ions is 28, and the peak having the smallest half band width is in the range of 400-600° C. in the spectrum. The nitrogen content calculated from the peak appearing at 400 eV±1.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing Ti by Ca reduction by the invention includes a reaction tank retaining a molten salt in which a molten salt CaCl2 is contained and Ca is dissolved, an electrolytic cell retaining a molten salt containing CaCl2, and a continuum body which is movably constructed while part of the continuum body is immersed in the molten salt either within the reaction tank or electrolytic cell. In the inventive method for producing Ti by Ca reduction, the molten salt in the electrolytic cell is electrolyzed to generate Ca on the cathode side which is transported to the reaction tank while deposited on and adheres to the continuum body, and TiCl4 is supplied to the reaction tank to generate Ti.

Abstract: The lowness of the initial efficiency which is a drawback of lithium secondary batteries wherein a SiO negative electrode is used is largely made better without hindering a large initial charge capacity peculiar to the lithium secondary batteries. A fall in the cycle characteristic when the thickness of the SiO layer is made large is prevented. To realize these matters, a thin film of SiO is formed, as a negative electrode active material layer, on the surface of a current collector by vacuum evaporation or sputtering. The film is preferably formed by an ion plating process. The thickness of the SiO thin film is set to 5 ?m or more. The surface roughness of the current collector is set to follows: the maximum height roughness Rz=5.0 or more. After the formation of the thin film, the film is thermally treated in a nonoxidative atmosphere.

Abstract: A method for production of metal by molten-salt electrolysis of the present invention is a method for production of metal by molten-salt electrolysis which is performed by filling a molten salt of calcium chloride in an electrolysis vessel having a anode and a cathode, one of the anode or cathode is arranged surrounding the other electrode, the cathode has at least one hole communicating the inner area surrounded by the cathode with the outer area, and the molten salt flows through the communicating holes from one area including the anode (the inner area or outer area) to the other area.

Abstract: A method for production of metal by molten-salt electrolysis is a method for production of metal by molten-salt electrolysis which is performed by filling molten salt of a metal chloride in an electrolysis vessel having an anode and a cathode, and a molten salt which reduces solubility of the metal in the molten salt is used.

Abstract: Provided are a porous sintered compact suitable for a filter, a power feeder in a polymer electrolyte membrane type water electrolyzer, a current collector in a solid polymer fuel cell and in addition a liquid dispersion plate, especially an ink dispersion plate for an ink jet printer ink and the like. A titanium powder sintered compact made of a plate-like porous compact is obtained by sintering spherical powder made of titanium or a titanium alloy produced by means of a gas atomization method. A void ratio in the range of from 35 to 55% is realized by filling without applying a pressure and sintering without applying a pressure.

Abstract: Provided are a porous sintered compact suitable for a filter, a power feeder in a polymer electrolyte membrane type water electrolyzer, a current collector in a solid polymer fuel cell and in addition a liquid dispersion plate, especially an ink dispersion plate for an ink jet printer ink and the like. A titanium powder sintered compact made of a plate-like porous compact is obtained by sintering spherical powder made of titanium or a titanium alloy produced by means of a gas atomization method. A void ratio in the range of from 35 to 55% is realized by filling without applying a pressure and sintering without applying a pressure.

Abstract: A highly active titanium oxide photocatalyst of the type responsive to visible light is prepared by subjecting a titanium (hydr)oxide raw material obtained by neutralizing an acidic titanium compound in ammonia or an amine under conditions such that the final pH is 7 or below to heat treatment in an atmosphere containing a hydrolyzable compound followed by contact with water and additional heat treatment at a temperature of at least 350° C. The resulting titanium oxide photocatalyst comprises titanium oxide with a specific surface area of at most 120 m2/g and with the amount of surface hydroxyl groups being at least 600 ?eq/g. Preferably the density of surface hydroxyl groups is at least 8 ?eq/m2, and the ratio of the amount of terminal type hydroxyl groups (T) to the amount of bridge type hydroxyl groups (B) in the surface hydroxyl groups satisfies T/B?0.20. This titanium oxide photocatalyst has an ESR spectrum having two types of triplet signal for which the g values of the main spectra are 1.993-2.

Abstract: A high-purity silicon monoxide vapor deposition material which, in the formation of a film by vapor deposition, is effective in inhibiting splashing, and which has an average bulk density of 2.0 g/cml and a Vickers hardness of 500 or higher; a process for producing a high-purity silicon monoxide vapor deposition material consisting of SiO and metal impurities as the remainder, the total amount of the impurities being, 50 ppm or smaller, which comprises conducting a degassing, treatment in a raw-material chamber at a temperature lower than the sublimation temperature of silicon monoxide, raising the temperature to sublimate silicon monoxide, and depositing the silicon monoxide on a substrate in a deposition chamber.

Abstract: A method for producing Ti or Ti alloys through reduction by Ca, including: a reduction step of holding a molten salt, containing CaCl2 and having Ca dissolved therein, in a reactor vessel 1, and reacting a metallic chloride containing TiCl4 with Ca in said salt to generate particles of Ti or Ti alloys in said salt; and a separation step of separating particles of Ti or Ti alloys, generated in said salt, from said salt. An electrolysis step 8, in which CaCl2 discharged outside the reactor vessel 1 is electrolyzed into Ca and Cl2, and the generated Ca is used for the generation reaction of Ti or Ti alloys in the reactor vessel 1, is preferably added. In the electrolysis step 8, an alloy electrode made of a molten Ca alloy, if applied for a cathode, is effective in enhancing the electricity efficiency, and also can be effectively utilized as a carrier medium of Ca for raising a Ca concentration of molten salt. By this method, high-purity Ti metals can be efficiently and economically produced.

Abstract: A sintered object of silicon monoxide for use as a material for forming silicon oxide thin films is provided of which the evaporation residue as determined by subjecting a sample thereof to thermogravimetry at a heating temperature of 1,300° C. and in a vacuum atmosphere, namely at a pressure of not higher than 10 Pa, is not more than 4% by mass relative to the sample before measurement. This sintered object can be produced by sintering SiO particles having a particle diameter of not smaller than 250 ?m, either after press forming thereof or during press forming thereof, in a non-oxygen atmosphere. This sintered object is high in evaporation rate and, when it is used as a material for film formation, an improvement in productivity in producing silicon oxide thin films can be expected. Thus, it can be widely applied in forming silicon oxide thin films useful as electric insulating films, mechanical protection films, optical films, barrier films of food packaging materials, etc.

Abstract: Provided are a porous sintered compact suitable for a filter, a power feeder in a polymer electrolyte membrane type water electrolyzer, a current collector in a solid polymer fuel cell and in addition a liquid dispersion plate, especially an ink dispersion plate for an ink jet printer ink and the like. A titanium powder sintered compact made of a plate-like porous compact is obtained by sintering spherical powder made of titanium or a titanium alloy produced by means of a gas atomization method. A void ratio in the range of from 35 to 55% is realized by filling without applying a pressure and sintering without applying a pressure.

Abstract: Provided are a porous sintered compact suitable for a filter, a power feeder in a polymer electrolyte membrane type water electrolyzer, a current collector in a solid polymer fuel cell and in addition a liquid dispersion plate, especially an ink dispersion plate for an ink jet printer ink and the like. A titanium powder sintered compact made of a plate-like porous compact is obtained by sintering spherical powder made of titanium or a titanium alloy produced by means of a gas atomization method. A void ratio in the range of from 35 to 55% is realized by filling without applying a pressure and sintering without applying a pressure.

Abstract: Provided are a porous sintered compact suitable for a filter, a power feeder in a polymer electrolyte membrane type water electrolyzer, a current collector in a solid polymer fuel cell and in addition a liquid dispersion plate, especially an ink dispersion plate for an ink jet printer ink and the like. A titanium powder sintered compact made of a plate-like porous compact is obtained by sintering spherical powder made of titanium or a titanium alloy produced by means of a gas atomization method. A void ratio in the range of from 35 to 55% is realized by filling without applying a pressure and sintering without applying a pressure.

Abstract: A water electrolysis apparatus includes a plurality of unit cells. A membrane electrode assembly of the unit cell includes an anode side power feeding element and a cathode side power feeding element stacked on an anode catalyst layer and a cathode catalyst layer on both surfaces of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane. A surface of the anode side power feeding element is subjected to a grinding process, and then, subjected to an etching process to form a smooth surface.

Abstract: In finifsh-cogging a high-purity titanium material into a cylindrical form as the final shape, if cylindrical cogging is performed in all stages of warm forging or if cylindrical cogging is performed in the initial stage of the warm forging, there is no need of peripherally restricting the cylindrical cogging material, so that even if longitudinal upset-forging is effected with an upsetting ratio of 2, the condition that the major diameter/minor diameter ratio of the section after forging is not more than 1.01 can be satisfied, developing superior upset-forgeability. This makes it possible, in producing disk-like targets for sputtering, to minimize cutting loss produced during the rolling and machining and to maximize the yield of products; therefore, the material can be widely used as a semiconductor material for electrodes and the like using a high-purity titanium material.

Abstract: A photocatalytic composite material having a high activity and good durability is produced by coating the surface of a substrate with a continuous film of titanium oxide by vapor deposition from titanium tetrachloride. In the case of a substrate which is a mass of inorganic fibers such as glass cloth, the individual fibers or filaments in the mass are coated with titanium oxide. The vapor deposition is performed by contacting the substrate, such as a mass of inorganic fibers, which has been heated to 100-300° C., with a mixture of distilled pure titanium tetrachloride vapor and water vapor to form a film of a titanium oxide precursor on the surface of the substrate. Then, the substrate is heated at 300-600° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere, resulting in the formation on the substrate surface of a continuous film of a photocatalyst having a high activity and good adhesion to the substrate and comprising crystalline titanium oxide with an average crystallite diameter of 50 nm or smaller.