A method for purifying ferric chloride, the method including: 1) adding an oxidant to an aqueous solution of an iron-containing chloride for oxidation of Fe.sup.2+, to yield a ferric chloride solution; 2) adding industrial hydrochloric acid and butyl acetate to the ferric chloride solution, shaking and resting a mixture of the ferric chloride solution, the industrial hydrochloric acid, and butyl acetate for phase separation, to yield an organic phase and an aqueous phase; 3) adding a stripping agent to the organic phase, shaking, and resting a mixture of the stripping agent and the organic phase; and collecting an aqueous phase including ferric chloride; and 4) evaporating and concentrating the aqueous phase including ferric chloride, removing butyl acetate, to yield purified ferric chloride.

Disclosed are embodiments of synthetic garnet materials for use in radiofrequency applications. In some embodiments, increased amounts of gadolinium can be added into specific sites in the crystal structure of the synthetic garnet by incorporating indium, a trivalent element. By including both indium and increased amounts of gadolinium, the dielectric constant can be improved. Thus, embodiments of the disclosed material can be advantageous in both above and below resonance applications, such as for isolators and circulators.

An object is to reduce variation in shape of crystals that are to be formed. Solutions containing respective raw materials are made in an environment where an oxygen concentration is lower than that in air, the solutions containing the respective raw materials are mixed in an environment where an oxygen concentration is lower than that in air to form a mixture solution, and with use of the mixture solution, a composite oxide is formed by a hydrothermal method.

An improved method of forming a transition metal layered oxide material for alkali-ion battery cathodes include combining an alkali-containing precursor and at least one transition metal precursor or other metal precursor at a low temperature of less than 100° C. to form a liquid eutectic alloy mixture. The mixture is then heated at a temperature between 300° C. to 500° C. to pre-calcinate the mixture, and subsequently the pre-calcinated mixture is subjected to a final calcination at a temperature of 500° C. to 1000° C. to obtain a crystalline oxide material. A P2-type or O3-type cathode may be formed with the layered oxide material, and a sodium-ion battery cell may include the so-formed P2-type or O3-type cathode.

One embodiment of the present invention is that in samarium-iron-nitrogen magnet powder, a non-magnetic phase is formed on a surface of the samarium-iron-nitrogen magnet phase, and an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the surface is 3.5 nm or less.

The invention provides a core-shell particle which can provide, by being calcinated, epsilon type iron oxide-based compound particles that have a small coefficient of variation of primary particle diameter and show excellent SNR and running durability when employed in a magnetic recording medium as well as applications thereof. The core-shell particle includes: a core including at least one iron oxide selected from Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 or Fe.sub.3O.sub.4, or iron oxyhydroxide; and a shell that coats the core, the shell including a polycondensate of a metal alkoxide and a metal element other than iron, as well as applications thereof.

There is provided a radio wave absorbing composition containing a magnetic powder and a binder. There is also provided a radio wave absorber containing a magnetic powder and a binder. The magnetic powder is a powder of a substitution-type hexagonal ferrite subjected to surface treatment with a surface treatment agent, the surface treatment agent is a silicon-based compound, and the binder is an olefin-based resin.

Thermochemical storage materials having the general formula A.sub.xA′.sub.1-xB.sub.yB′.sub.1-yO.sub.3-δ, where A=La, Sr, K, Ca, Ba, Y and B=Mn, Fe, Co, Ti, Ni, Cu, Zr, Al, Y, Cr, V, Nb, Mo, are disclosed. These materials have improved thermal storage energy density and reaction kinetics compared to previous materials. Concentrating solar power thermochemical systems and methods capable of storing heat energy by using these thermochemical storage materials are also disclosed.

Crystalline α-Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 nanoparticles prepared by ultrasonic treatment of a solution of an iron (III)-containing precursor and an extract from the seeds of a plant in the family Linaceae. The crystalline α-Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 nanoparticles have a spherical morphology with a diameter of 100 nm to 300 nm, a mean surface area of 240 to 260 m.sup.2/g, and a type-II nitrogen adsorption-desorption BET isotherm with a H3 hysteresis loop. The crystalline α-Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 nanoparticles have a band gap of 2.10 to 2.16 eV and a mean pore size of 7.25 to 9.25 nm. A method for the photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants using the crystalline α-Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 nanoparticles. An antibacterial composition containing the crystalline α-Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 nanoparticles.

A ferrite sintered magnet has a ferrite phase having a magnetoplumbite-type crystal structure, and contains at least a metal element A, a metal element R, Fe, Co, Zn, and B. The element A is at least one kind of element selected from the group consisting of Sr, Ba, Ca, and Pb, and essentially includes Ca. The element R is at least one kind of element selected from the group consisting of Bi and rare-earth elements including Y, and essentially includes La. Atomic ratios of the metal elements satisfy the following expressions.

A.sub.1-rR.sub.rFe.sub.xCo.sub.yZn.sub.z  (1)

0.40≤r≤0.70  (2)

8.20≤x≤9.34  (3)

0.05<y≤0.50  (4)

0<z≤0.20  (5)

The content of Si is 0 to 0.60% by mass in terms of SiO.sub.2, and the content of B is 0.01 to 0.70% by mass in terms of B.sub.2O.sub.3.