Thin-layer metal film

1 . A process for forming a metal film, comprising the steps of:

coating a photo-polymerizable composition on a surface of a substrate;

bringing an aqueous radical-polymerizable compound into contact with the photo-polymerizable composition to form a hydrophilic graft polymer chain on the surface of the substrate by irradiation with light;

introducing a metal salt to the hydrophilic graft polymer chain; and

reducing the metal salt.

2 . A process for forming a metal film, comprising the steps of:

reacting a polymer having a functional group reactive with a substrate in end terminals or side chains thereof with a functional group on a surface of the substrate to form a hydrophilic graft polymer chain on the surface of the substrate;

introducing a metal salt to the hydrophilic graft polymer chain; and

reducing the metal salt.

3 . A process for forming a metal film, comprising the steps of:

treating a surface of a substrate with plasma or electron beams to generate radicals;

reacting the activated surface with a hydrophilic functional group-containing monomer to form a hydrophilic graft polymer chain on the surface of the substrate;

introducing a metal salt to the hydrophilic graft polymer chain; and

reducing the metal salt.

4 . A process for forming a metal film, comprising the steps of:

coating a photo-polymerizable composition on a surface of a substrate;

bringing an aqueous radical-polymerizable compound into contact with the photo-polymerizable composition to form a functional graft polymer chain on the surface of the substrate by irradiation with light;

introducing a metal salt to the functional graft polymer chain; and

reducing the metal salt.

5 . A process for forming a metal film, comprising the steps of:

reacting a polymer having a functional group reactive with a substrate in end terminals or side chains thereof with a functional group on a surface of the substrate to form a functional graft polymer chain on the surface of the substrate;

introducing a metal salt to the functional graft polymer chain; and

reducing the metal salt.

6 . A process for forming a metal film, comprising the steps of:

treating a surface of a substrate with plasma or electron beams to generate radicals;

reacting the activated surface with a functional group-containing monomer to form a functional graft polymer chain on the surface of the substrate;

introducing a metal salt to the functional graft polymer chain; and

reducing the metal salt.

7 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the metal salt-containing hydrophilic graft polymer chain is one in which a metal ion is adsorbed on an acid group-containing graft polymer.

8 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the metal salt-containing hydrophilic graft polymer chain is one in which a metal salt is impregnated in a graft polymer having strong affinity with metal salts.

9 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the metal salt-containing hydrophilic graft polymer chain is obtained by dipping the substrate, on which a hydrophilic graft polymer is present, in a metal salt solution to thereby adsorb the metal salt solution on the graft polymer.

10 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein end terminals of the graft polymer chain are bound to the surface of the substrate or to a layer comprising the photo-polymerizable composition coated on the surface of the substrate, and a functional graft moiety that exhibits specific physical properties is not substantially crosslinked.

11 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the hydrophilic graft polymer chain has a weight-average molecular weight in a range from 500 to 5,000,000.

12 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 4 - 6 , wherein an end terminal of the functional graft polymer chain is bound to the surface of the substrate or to a surface layer of the substrate, and a functional graft moiety that exhibits specific physical properties is not substantially crosslinked.

13 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 4 - 6 , wherein the functional graft polymer chain has a weight-average molecular weight in a range from 500 to 5,000,000.

14 . The process for forming a metal film according to claims 4 - 6 , wherein the functional graft polymer chain is bound to the surface of the substrate or to a layer comprising the photo-polymerizable composition coated on the surface of the substrate.

15 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 4 - 6 , wherein the functional graft polymer chain is introduced into a polymer crosslinked film structure.

16 . The process for forming a metal film according to claim 7 , wherein the acid group-containing graft polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acid, polymethacrylic acid, polystyrenesulfonic acid, poly-2-acrylamide-2-methyl-propanesulfonic acid, salts of these acids, polyacrylamide, and polyvinylacetamide.

17 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 - 3 , wherein the metal salt is a salt of a metal selected from the group consisting of Ag, Cu, Al, and Ni.

18 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 - 3 , wherein the metal salt is a salt of a metal selected from the group consisting of Pd, a Pd-Ag alloy, a Pd—Y alloy, a Pd—Gd alloy, a Pd—Ag—Y alloy, and a Pd—Au alloy.

19 . The process for forming a metal film according to any one of claims 1 - 3 , wherein the reduction is carried out with a solution selected from the group consisting of a hypophosphite solution, a tetrahydroborate solution, a hydrazine solution, and a formalin solution.