A process for water removal and/or recycling of sodium sulphate and/or sodium dithionate containing liquors derived from processing a cobalt resource derived from components of lithium ion batteries comprising steps of deriving from the cobalt resource a solution containing cobalt sulphate and cobalt dithionate, precipitation of cobalt as cobaltous carbonate or cobaltous hydroxide followed by removal thereof from the liquor, crystallization of sodium sulphate and sodium dithionate and removal of the resulting crystals, followed by heating of the crystals to anhydrous sodium sulphate, sulphur dioxide and water and then separating the anhydrous sodium sulphate.

Proposed are a metal-substituted titanium oxide which has a composition other than conventional Ti.sub.3O.sub.5 while having a property of being able to undergo phase transition from a crystal structure in a paramagnetic metal state to a crystal structure of a nonmagnetic semiconductor upon application of pressure or light and which can also be used in fields other than conventional technical fields, and a method for producing a metal-substituted titanium oxide sintered body. According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a metal-substituted titanium oxide having a crystal structure which does not undergo phase transition to a crystal structure having the properties of a nonmagnetic semiconductor even at 460 [K] or lower but maintains a paramagnetic metal state over the entire temperature range of 0 to 800 [K] and which undergoes phase transition to a crystal structure of a nonmagnetic semiconductor upon application of pressure or light, the metal-substituted titanium oxide having a composition in which some of Ti sites of Ti.sub.3O.sub.5 are substituted with any one of Mg, Mn, Al, V and Nb.

A cathode active material including a layered lithium transition metal oxide, wherein the layered lithium transition metal oxide includes a metal cation having an oxidation number of +4, and wherein the metal cation is disposed in an octahedral site of a lattice of the layered lithium transition metal oxide.

A cathode active material including a layered lithium transition metal oxide, wherein the layered lithium transition metal oxide includes a metal cation having an oxidation number of +4, and wherein the metal cation is disposed in an octahedral site of a lattice of the layered lithium transition metal oxide.

A nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction catalyst that includes a transition metal tungstate having the formula: MWO.sub.4 wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu. The catalyst may be utilized in various environments including oxygen rich and oxygen deficient environments.

A nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction catalyst that includes a transition metal tungstate having the formula: MWO.sub.4 wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu. The catalyst may be utilized in various environments including oxygen rich and oxygen deficient environments.

Methods are presented for synthesizing a metal precursor for a cathode-active material. The methods include adding urea to a solution comprising dissolved ions of at least one transition metal selected from Mn, Co, and Ni. The methods also include increasing a pH of the aqueous solution to a threshold pH. The methods additionally include heating the aqueous solution to precipitate a compound that includes the at least one transition metal. Such heating may involve urea decomposition. Methods are also presented that include filtering the compound from the solution and contacting the compound with at least a lithium precursor to produce a reactant charge. In these methods, the reactant charge is calcined to produce the cathode-active material. Other methods are presented.

A lithium-ion battery includes: a cathode; an anode; and a non-aqueous electrolyte solution, in which the cathode includes a current collector and a cathode mixture applied on at least one side of the current collector, the cathode mixture includes a lithium transition metal oxide as a cathode active material, the anode includes a lithium titanium complex oxide as an anode active material, and the non-aqueous electrolyte solution includes a fluorine-containing boric acid ester.

Nanoplatelet forms of metal hydroxide and metal oxide are provided, as well as methods for preparing same. The nanoplatelets are suitable for use as fire retardants and as agents for chemical or biological decontamination.

Nanoplatelet forms of metal hydroxide and metal oxide are provided, as well as methods for preparing same. The nanoplatelets are suitable for use as fire retardants and as agents for chemical or biological decontamination.