US Patent 7854997 - Cobalt-nickel nanoparticles for adhesive

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7854997.html

This patent from Boeing takes advantage of the high surface area of nanoparticle materials to improve the effectiveness of adhesives used in metal bonding. Claim 1 reads:

1. A metallic substrate comprising a precipitate-coated surface, the precipitate-coated surface comprising:

a precipitate, the precipitate comprising nanoparticulates, a first portion of the nanoparticulates adheres to a surface of the metallic substrate and a second portion of the nanoparticulates is in contact with the first portion of nanoparticulates;

wherein the metallic substrate comprises aluminum or an aluminum alloy; and

wherein the precipitate comprises clusters of cobalt-nickel nanoparticulates, the cobalt-nickel nano particulates in a size range from about 50 nm to about 1000 nm.