A porous carbon that has an extremely high specific surface area while being crystalline, and a method of manufacturing the porous carbon are provided. A porous carbon has mesopores 4 and a carbonaceous wall 3 constituting an outer wall of the mesopores 4, wherein the carbonaceous wall 3 has a portion forming a layered structure. The porous carbon is fabricated by mixing a polyamic acid resin 1 as a carbon precursor with magnesium oxide 2 as template particles; heat-treating the mixture in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1000° C. for 1 hour to cause the polyamic acid resin to undergo heat decomposition; washing the resultant sample with a sulfuric acid solution at a concentration of 1 mol/L to dissolve MgO away; and heat-treating the noncrystalline porous carbon in a nitrogen atmosphere at 2500° C.

A porous carbon that has an extremely high specific surface area while being crystalline, and a method of manufacturing the porous carbon are provided. A porous carbon has mesopores 4 and a carbonaceous wall 3 constituting an outer wall of the mesopores 4, wherein the carbonaceous wall 3 has a portion forming a layered structure. The porous carbon is fabricated by mixing a polyamic acid resin 1 as a carbon precursor with magnesium oxide 2 as template particles; heat-treating the mixture in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1000° C. for 1 hour to cause the polyamic acid resin to undergo heat decomposition; washing the resultant sample with a sulfuric acid solution at a concentration of 1 mol/L to dissolve MgO away; and heat-treating the noncrystalline porous carbon in a nitrogen atmosphere at 2500° C.

Powder comprising particles comprising a matrix material and silicon-based domains dispersed in this matrix material, whereby the matrix material is carbon or a material that can be thermally decomposed to carbon, whereby either part of the silicon-based domains are present in the form of agglomerates of silicon-based domains whereby at least 98% of these agglomerates have a maximum size of 3 μm or less, or the silicon-based domains are not at all agglomerated into agglomerates.

Powder comprising particles comprising a matrix material and silicon-based domains dispersed in this matrix material, whereby the matrix material is carbon or a material that can be thermally decomposed to carbon, whereby either part of the silicon-based domains are present in the form of agglomerates of silicon-based domains whereby at least 98% of these agglomerates have a maximum size of 3 μm or less, or the silicon-based domains are not at all agglomerated into agglomerates.

An electrode material for a lithium ion secondary battery and method of forming the same, the electrode material including composite particles, each composite particle including: a primary particle including an electrochemically active material; and an envelope disposed on the surface of the primary particle. The envelope includes turbostratic carbon having a Raman spectrum having: a D band having a peak intensity (I.sub.D) at wave number between 1330 cm.sup.−1 and 1360 cm.sup.−1; a G band having a peak intensity (I.sub.G) at wave number between 1530 cm.sup.−1 and 1580 cm.sup.−1; and a 2D band having a peak intensity (I.sub.2D) at wave number between 2650 cm.sup.−1 and 2750 cm.sup.−1. In one embodiment, a ratio of I.sub.D/I.sub.G ranges from greater than zero to about 1.1, and a ratio of I.sub.2D/I.sub.G ranges from about 0.4 to about 2.

A carbon-sulfur composite including a carbonized metal-organic framework (MOF); and a sulfur compound introduced to at least a part of an outside surface and an inside of the carbonized metal-organic framework, wherein the carbonized metal-organic framework has a specific surface area of 1000 m.sup.2/g to 4000 m.sup.2/g, and the carbonized metal-organic framework has a pore volume of 0.1 cc/g to 10 cc/g, and a method for preparing the same.

A problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a carbonaceous material suitable for a negative electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries (e.g., lithium ion secondary batteries, sodium ion secondary batteries, lithium sulfur batteries, lithium air batteries) having high charge/discharge capacities and preferably high charge/discharge efficiency as well as low resistance, a negative electrode comprising the carbonaceous material, a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprising the negative electrode, and a production method of the carbonaceous material. The present invention relates to a carbonaceous material having a nitrogen element content of 1.0 mass % or more and an oxygen content of 1.5 mass % or less obtained by elemental analysis, a ratio of nitrogen element content and hydrogen element content (R.sub.N/H) of 6 or more and 100 or less, a ratio of oxygen element content and nitrogen element content (R.sub.O/N) of 0.1 or more and 1.0 or less, and a carbon interplanar spacing (d.sub.002) observed by X-ray diffraction measurement of 3.70 Å or more.

When a metal catalyst is used as a catalyst in a catalyst layer of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, improvement in catalytic activity and improvement in durability of the metal catalyst are intended.

The catalyst composition of the present invention comprises a metal catalyst, a carbon material having a nitrogen-containing group on which the metal catalyst is carried, and an ionomer.

A pyrolysis process comprises introducing one or more chemical reactants into a reactor containing a liquid maintained at a high temperature, producing chemical products in the liquid based on the high temperature, allowing the solid product to grow in particle size, accumulating the solid product in the liquid, and removing the solid product from the reactor while retaining a substantial portion of the liquid within the reactor. The chemical products comprise a solid chemical product that is mixed with the liquid.

Techniques are described for transferring nanofiber forests using transfer films that either lack a conventional adhesive at the substrate-nanofiber forest interface or that include a diffusion barrier that prevents diffusion of adhesive molecules (or other polymer molecules mobile at ambient temperatures) into the nanofiber forest. These techniques can be applied to single layer nanofiber forests or stacks of multiple nanofiber forest. By selecting the bond strength between the nanofiber forest and the transfer films, the nanofibers can be aligned in a common direction that includes, but is not limited to, perpendicular to a substrate or transfer film.