Abstract: A battery electrode substrate having excellent mechanical strength and flexibility and being capable of increasing the filling density of a positive electrode active substance and, thereby, achieving a higher capacity battery, a battery electrode formed from the battery electrode substrate, and an alkaline secondary battery including the battery electrode are provided. The battery electrode substrate includes a woven or unwoven fabric and nickel for coating fibers constituting the woven or unwoven fabric, wherein the weight per area of the above-described woven or unwoven fabric is 15 g/m2 or more, and 60 g/m2 or less and the thickness of the above-described woven or unwoven fabric is 1.3 mm or more, and 3.0 mm or less. The battery electrode is formed from the battery electrode substrate, and the alkaline secondary battery includes the battery electrode.

Abstract: Objects of the present invention are to provide a hydrogen-permeable structure having excellent durability, in which adherence between a hydrogen-permeable base and a proton conductive film is excellent, peel-off at an interface thereof is suppressed, and stable performance can be kept for a long time, and to provide a method of manufacturing the hydrogen-permeable structure and a fuel cell having excellent durability, in which the hydrogen-permeable structure is used. The present invention relates to a hydrogen-permeable structure including a hydrogen-permeable base in which a fluctuation range of a d value by X-ray analysis measurement is at most 0.05% in a region within 2 ?m deep from a surface, and an oxide proton conductive film formed on a surface thereof, and also relates to a method of manufacturing the hydrogen-permeable structure and a fuel cell using the hydrogen-permeable structure.

Abstract: [Problem] To enable mounting a part on the rear surface at the back of a connection part on a PCB to be connected with a FPC. [Means for Solving the Problem] Connection parts are provided such that a conductor wiring of a first circuit board and a conductor wiring of a second circuit board are connected with an anisotropic conductive adhesive which is made of an insulative resin including needle-shaped or linear chain-shaped metal powders oriented in a thickness direction, i.e., adhesion direction, and a part is mounted on at least either one of the first and the second circuit boards, the part being mounted on the rear surface at the back opposed to the surface where the connection part is formed.

Abstract: An electrode substrate for a battery has nickel applied as a coat on the surface of a base constituted of crossing of a plurality of fibers including a core formed of synthetic resin and a coating of synthetic resin having a softening temperature lower than the softening temperature of the synthetic resin forming the core. The electrode substrate has the fibers of the base fusion-bonded at a cross point by heat treatment. The ratio of the coating occupying a II-II cross section of the fiber cross point is larger than the ratio of the coating occupying a fiber cross section (III-III cross section) at a site other than at the cross point.

Abstract: A battery electrode substrate having excellent mechanical strength and flexibility and being capable of increasing the filling density of a positive electrode active substance and, thereby, achieving a higher capacity battery, a battery electrode formed from the battery electrode substrate, and an alkaline secondary battery including the battery electrode are provided. The battery electrode substrate includes a woven or unwoven fabric and nickel for coating fibers constituting the woven or unwoven fabric, wherein the weight per area of the above-described woven or unwoven fabric is 15 g/m2 or more, and 60 g/m2 or less and the thickness of the above-described woven or unwoven fabric is 1.3 mm or more, and 3.0 mm or less. The battery electrode is formed from the battery electrode substrate, and the alkaline secondary battery includes the battery electrode.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, the gas sensor includes a porous plate-like sintered body comprising trisilicon tetranitride needle crystals; two first catalyst metal thin films and one second catalyst metal thin film, formed on one surface of the plate-like sintered body in a non-contacted state with each other; oxygen ion-conductive solid electrolyte thin films formed on the respective surface; a surface layer thin film formed on the respective surfaces, so that a first measurement part, a second measurement part and a third measurement part are constituted; and a glass sealing layer comprising silicon oxide, formed on other surface of the porous plate-like sintered body, a surface other than the surface of the porous plate-like sintered body having the first catalyst metal thin film and the second catalyst metal thin film formed thereon, and a side of the first measurement part and the second measurement part.

Abstract: A producing method of a porous Si3N4 having high porosity and formed of Si3N4 particles having a high aspect ratio includes the following steps. A compound of a rare earth element as a first sintering agent is mixed in an amount of 7.5–45 parts by mass, in terms of an oxide of the element, with respect to 100 parts by mass of Si powder to obtain mixed powder. A binder is added to the mixed powder, which is then molded into a molded body. The molded body is heated in a nitrogen atmosphere to 300–500° C. to remove the binder. The binder-removed body is heated in a nitrogen atmosphere to 1350–1500° C. for nitriding. The nitrided body is then sintered at 1750–1900° C. at a nitrogen pressure of 0.1–1 atmosphere.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, the gas sensor includes a porous plate-like sintered body comprising trisilicon tetranitride needle crystals; two first catalyst metal thin films and one second catalyst metal thin film, formed on one surface of the plate-like sintered body in a non-contacted state with each other; oxygen ion-conductive solid electrolyte thin films formed on the respective surface; a surface layer thin film formed on the respective surfaces, so that a first measurement part, a second measurement part and a third measurement part are constituted; and a glass sealing layer comprising silicon oxide, formed on other surface of the porous plate-like sintered body, a surface other than the surface of the porous plate-like sintered body having the first catalyst metal thin film and the second catalyst metal thin film formed thereon, and a side of the first measurement part and the second measurement part.

Abstract: A producing method of a porous Si3N4 having high porosity and formed of Si3N4 particles having a high aspect ratio includes the following steps. A compound of a rare earth element as a first sintering agent is mixed in an amount of 7.5-45 parts by mass, in terms of an oxide of the element, with respect to 100 parts by mass of Si powder to obtain mixed powder. A binder is added to the mixed powder, which is then molded into a molded body. The molded body is heated in a nitrogen atmosphere to 300-500° C. to remove the binder. The binder-removed body is heated in a nitrogen atmosphere to 1350-1500° C. for nitriding. The nitrided body is then sintered at 1750-1900° C. at a nitrogen pressure of 0.1-1 atmosphere.

Abstract: A filter includes a plurality of filter units formed of a porous ceramic medium arranged and housed in a casing, and having therethrough a circulatory line for passing a feed fluid and a discharging route for passing a permeated fluid. The circulatory line and the discharging route are separated from each other by partially sealing those portions of the filter units which are fixed to opposite ends of the casing. The filter unit is structured to basically have a large number of open channels communicating with the circulatory line and passing the feed fluid and closed channels passing the permeated fluid, and a large number of discharge holes penetrating a solid portion of the porous ceramic medium to discharge the permeated fluid. As seen in any cross section of the filter orthogonal to one direction thereof, the plurality of filter units occupy an area corresponding to at least 35% of an internal area of the casing.

Abstract: A ceramic filter module includes a plurality of passage holes (11) and internal passage holes (12) alternately arranged about a plurality of ceramic partitions (15). The internal passage holes are sealed at each end by seals (13). The partitions are at most 1 mm thick and allow fluid to be filtered as the fluid flows from passage holes (11) to the internal passage holes (12). A plurality of discharge holes (14) traversing through the ceramic partitions between adjacent internal passage holes or between an internal passage hole and an outer surface allow the permeate to exit. The module is a porous ceramic body that preferably has an average pore diameter of 1 &mgr;m and is composed of silicon nitride. The ceramic filter module has the advantages of low permeation resistance and very high permeability.

Abstract: A silicon nitride ceramic sliding material comprising silicon nitride crystal grains and a grain boundary phase and having a porosity of 2 to 10% and a maximum pore size of 20 to 100 .mu.m. The silicon nitride ceramic sliding material preferably has a textural structure wherein the proportion of the total area of silicon nitride crystal grains of 0.1 to 10 .mu.m.sup.2 in area to the total area of all the silicon nitride crystal grains present in an arbitrary two-dimensional cross section is 30 to 90% and the proportion of the number of silicon nitride crystal grains of 2 to 10 in aspect ratio to the number of all the silicon nitride crystal grains present in that cross section is at least 20%. The material is produced by mixing a silicon nitride powder with a sintering aid powder, molding the resulting mixture, then heat-treating the resulting molded body in a nitrogen-containing atmosphere under reduced pressure at 1,000 to 1,500.degree. C.

Abstract: The invention relates to material silicon nitride powder used for production of silicon nitride ceramics products. Provided herein is a material powder which can offer a compact having a homogeneous packing structure of the powder with good reproducibility and also to provide a method for producing the same. Accordingly to the method, a silicon nitride powder is heat treated in two-stage processing, one stage in an inert gas or reducing atmosphere at 100.degree. C.-1000.degree. C. for 5-600 min., and another stage in an oxidizing atmosphere at 300.degree. C.-1200.degree. C. for 5-600 min. As a result of this treatment, a silicon nitride powder is obtained in which its powder particles are crystalline in their interior and are coated with an amorphous layer having a 1-10 nm surface thickness and composed mainly of Si, N, O, and H, an atomic number ratio of oxygen to nitrogen (O/N) of the surface layer being within a range of 0.1-2.0.

Abstract: The invention relates to material silicon nitride powder used for production of silicon nitride ceramics products. Provided herein is a material powder which can offer a compact having a homogeneous packing structure of the powder with good reproducibility and also to provide a method for producing the same. According to the method, a silicon nitride powder is heat treated in two-stage processing, one stage in an inert gas or reducing atmosphere at 100.degree. C.-1000.degree. C. for 5-600 min., and another stage in an oxidizing atmosphere at 300.degree. C.-1200.degree. C. for 5-600 min. As a result of this treatment, a silicon nitride powder is obtained in which its powder particles are crystalline in their interior and are coated with an amorphous layer having a 1-10 nm surface thickness and composed mainly of Si, N, O, and H, an atomic number ratio of oxygen to nitrogen (O/N) of the surface layer being within a range of 0.1-2.0.