Patent ID: 7527752

Claim:
A method for the modification through surface treatment of nickel nanoparticles comprising: dispersing nickel nanoparticles formed by a wet chemical process having a diameter of 100 nm to 1,000 nm and impurities of Ni(OH) 2 and/or Ni 2 O 3 adhering to their surfaces in a reductive organic solvent which is a primary or secondary alcohol containing 3 to 8 carbon atoms or a glycol containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms and a solution of a base selected from the group consisting of NaOH and KOH to obtain a dispersion wherein said nanoparticles are present in the dispersion in a concentration of 5 to 10% by weight based on the weight of said reductive organic solvent; heating the resulting dispersion at a temperature 10 to 50° C. lower than the boiling temperature of said reductive organic solvent to provide surface modification wherein said Ni(OH) 2 and/or Ni 2 O 3 adhering to the surfaces of said nickel nanoparticles is reduced to nickel metal so as to increase a surface homogeneity of the nickel nanoparticles; separating the resulting nickel nanoparticles from the dispersion; and washing and drying the resulting modified nickel nanoparticles to provide a nanoparticle product having increased surface homogeneity and an increased tap density when compared to that of the starting material.