An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic powder having a narrow particle size distribution of epsilon-type iron oxide particles, and another object is to provide magnetic powder suitable for magnetic recording medium by improving particle size distribution, and provide epsilon-type iron oxide magnetic particles and related technologies in which a number average particle diameter of major diameters (D.sub.50) is 10 to 20 nm, a 90% cumulative particle diameter (D.sub.90) is 30 nm or less, and a geometric standard deviation (σ.sub.g) of major diameters is 1.45 or less, which are obtained by TEM observation.

Provided is a vanadium oxide film which shows substantially no hysteresis of resistivity changes due to temperature rising/falling, has a low resistivity at room temperature, has a large absolute value of the temperature coefficient of resistance, and shows semiconductor-like resistance changes in a wide temperature range. In the vanadium oxide film, a portion of the vanadium has been replaced by aluminum and copper, and the amount of substance of aluminum is 10 mol % based on the sum total of the amount of substance of vanadium, the amount of substance of aluminum, and the amount of substance of copper. This vanadium oxide film has a low resistivity, has a large absolute value of the temperature coefficient of resistance, and shows substantially no hysteresis of resistivity changes due to temperature rising/falling. This vanadium oxide film is produced by applying a mixture solution containing a vanadium organic compound, an aluminum organic compound, and a copper organic compound to a substrate, calcining the substrate at a temperature lower than the temperature at which the substrate decomposes, and irradiating the surface of the substrate onto which the mixture solution has been applied with ultraviolet light.

The present invention provides an electrocatalytic material and a method for making an electrocatalytic material. There is also provided an electrocatalytic material comprising amorphous metal or mixed metal oxides. There is also provided methods of forming an electrocatalyst, comprising an amorphous metal oxide film.

A radio wave absorber provided with a radio wave absorbing film formed on a substrate, the radio wave absorber being capable of absorbing radio waves over a broad frequency band and exhibiting superior radio wave absorbing properties even with a radio wave absorbing film thinner than 1 mm. A film forming paste suitable for forming a radio wave absorbing film that is provided in the radio wave absorber. In a radio wave absorber provided with a radio wave absorbing film formed on a substrate, a particular epsilon-type iron oxide is employed in the radio wave absorbing film and relative permittivity of the radio wave absorbing film is set to 6.5 to 65.

There is provided a radio wave absorber including a magnetic powder and a binder, in which a volume filling rate of the magnetic powder in the radio wave absorber is 35% by volume or less, and a volume filling rate of a carbon component in the radio wave absorber is 0% by volume or more and 2.0% by volume or less.

A paste for manufacturing a photocatalyst is provided. The paste for manufacturing the photocatalyst includes an alcohol paste and a photocatalyst precursor. The photocatalyst precursor is dispersed in the alcohol paste, and the photocatalyst precursor includes a first metal precursor and a second metal precursor, wherein the first metal in the first metal precursor includes Zn, Sn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Co or Ag, and the second metal in the second metal precursor includes Fe.

An object is to provide the ferrite particles used as a magnetic filler or a raw material for a molded product excellent in dispersibility as a powder and excellent in uniformity after molding and result the surface with small unevenness; and a method of manufacturing the particles. To achieve the object, Mn—Mg ferrite particles having an average particle size of 1 to 2000 nm and having a spherical shape are employed. It is preferable that the ferrite particles are produced by a method including subjecting of a ferrite raw material obtained through preparation of a ferrite composition to flame-spraying in air for ferritization followed by rapid cooling for solidifying of the ferrite.

According to the present invention, a composite including amorphous iron molybdate islands, shows a smaller island size and a uniform distribution of islands compared with a conventional composite including crystalline islands, and thus has a higher specific surface area, thereby exhibiting excellent activity as a catalyst.

A method for making lithium iron phosphate is provided. A lithium chemical compound, a ferrous chemical compound, and a phosphate-radical chemical compound are mixed in an organic solvent to form a mixture. The mixture is solvothermal reacted in a solvothermal reactor at a predetermined temperature. A protective gas is introduced into the solvothermal reactor during the solvothermal reaction to increase a pressure in the solvothermal reactor to a level higher than a self-generated pressure of the solvothermal reaction.

The present invention relates to an electrochemical cell comprising an anode of a Group IA metal and a cathode of a composite material prepared from an aqueous mixture of iron sulfate, nickel sulfate, and sulfur. The cathode material of the present invention provides for a lithium electrochemical cell having an increased operating voltage and power performance with high discharge capacity as compared to a lithium cell comprising nickel disulfide cathode material. In addition, the cathode material of the present invention exhibits a smaller initial irreversible voltage loss as compared to iron disulfide. This makes the cathode material of the present invention particularly useful for implantable medical applications.